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SEWTORK, 
YuMMued "by ~R.Sc G. S.Wood,. 

and sold by the Booksellers generally. 



THE 



PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 



IN TWO PARTS ; 



BY JOHN BITOT AIT. 

it 



WITH NOTES, AND A LIFE OF THE AUTHOR, 
BY 

THE REV. T. SCOTT, 
t 

LATE CHAPLAIN TO THE LOCK HOSPITAL. 



X 






MiDDLETOWN: # 

PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM H. NILES ; 

AND 

N. & J. WHITE, NEW YORK. 

MDCCCXXXIII. 



PREFACE. 

The high estimation in which the "Pilgrim's Pro 
gress" has been held for above a century, sufficiently 
evinces its intrinsic value : and there is every reason 
to suppose, that it will be read with admiration and 
advantage for ages to come ; probably till, the consum- 
mation of all things. 

The pious Christian, in proportion to "his growth 
in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus," 
derives more and more instruction from repeated pe- 
rusals of this remarkable book ; while his enlarged 
experience and extended observation enable him to 
unfold, with progressive evidence, the meaning of the 
agreeable similitudes employedby its ingenious author. 
And ev^en the careless or uninstructed reader is fasci- 
nated to attention, by the simple and artless manner 
in which the interesting narrative is arranged. Nor 
should this be represented as a mere amusement, 
which answers no farther purpose ; for it has been ob- 
served by men of great discernment and acquaintance 
with the human mind, that young persons, having 
perused the Pilgrim as a pleasing tale, have often 
retained a remembrance of its leading incidents, which, 
after continuing perhaps in a dormant state for seve- 
ral years, has at length germinated, as it were, into 
the most important and seasonable instruction ; while 
the events of their own lives placed it before their 
minds in a new and affecting point of view. It may, 
therefore, be questioned, whether modern ages have 
produced any work which has more promoted the best 
interests of mankind. 

These observations indeed more especially apply to 
the first part of the Pilgrim's Progress ; that being 
complete in itself, and in all respects superior to the 
second. Yet tins, also, contains many edifying and: 
interesting passages ; though in unity of design, in 



4 4-~ PREFACE. 

arrangement of incident, and in simplicity of allegory, 
it is not comparable to the other. Indeed, the author, 
in his first effort, hadnearly exhausted Ins subject : and 
nothing remained, for his second attempt, but a few- 
detached episodes (so to speak) to his original plan : 
nor could any vigour of genius have wrought them up 
to an equal degree of excellence. It must, however, 
be allowed, that Mr. Bunyan here frequently sinks 
below himself, both in fertility of invention, force of 
imagination, and aptness of illustration : nay, he some- 
times even stoops to a puerile play of fancy, and a re- 
fined nicety hi explaining doctrines, which do not at 
all accord with the rest of the work. But the same 
grand principles of evangelical and practical religion, 
which stamp an inestimable value on the first part, 
are, in the second, also exhibited with equal purity, 
though not with equal simplicity: and, on many occa- 
sions, the author rises superior to Iris disadvantages ; 
and introduces characters, or incidents, which arrest 
the attention, and interest the heart of every pious and 
intelligent reader. 

It would not, perhaps, be difficult to show, that the 
" Pilgrim's Progress," as first published, is as really an 
original production of vigorous native genius, as any 
of those works, in prose or verse, which have excited 
the admiration of mankind, through successive ages, 
and in different nations. It does not indeed possess 
those ornaments which are often mistaken for intrinsic 
excellence : but the rudeness of its style (which at 
the same time is characteristic of the subject) concurs 
to prove it a most extraordinary book : for, had it not 
been written with very great ingenuity, a religious 
treatise, evidently inculcating doctrines always offen- 
sive, but now more unfashionable than formerly, would 
not, in so homely a garb, have so durably attracted the 
attention of a polished age and nation. Yet it is unde- 
niable, that Bunyan's Pilgrim continues to be read and 
admired by vast multitudes ; while publications on a 
similar plan, by persons of respectable learning and 
talents, are consigned to almost total neglect and 
oblivion ! 

This is not, however, that view of the work, which 






PREFACE. 5 

entitles it to its highest honour, or most endears it to 
the pious mind ; for, comparing it with the other pro- 
ductions of the same author, (which are indeed edifying 
to the humble believer, but not much suited to the 
taste of the ingenious) we shall be led to conclude, 
that in penning this he was favoured with a peculiar 
measure of the divine assistance : especially when 
we recollect, that, within the confines of a jail, he was 
dble so to delineate the Christian's course, with its 
various difficulties, perils, conflicts, &c, that scarcely 
eny tiling seems to have escaped his notice. Indeed, 
the accurate observer of the church in his own days, 
and the learned student of ecclesiastical history, must 
oe equally surprised to find, that hardly one remark- 
able character, good or bad, or mixed in any manner or 
proportion imaginable ; or that one fatal delusion, bye- 
path, or injurious mistake, can be singled out, which 
may not be paralleled in the " Pilgrim's Progress :" 
that is, as to the grand outlines ; for the minutiae, about 
which bigoted and frivolous minds waste their zeal 
and force, are, with very few exceptions, wisely passed 
over. This circumstance is not only surprising, but it 
suggests an argument, not easily answered, in support 
of the truth of those religious sentiments, which are 
now often derided under the title of orthodoxy; for 
every part of this singular book exclusively suits the 
different descriptions of such as profess those doc- 
trines ; and relates the experiences, mistakes, falls, 
recoveries, distresses, temptations, conflicts, supports, 
and consolations of serious persons of this class in 
our own times, as exactly as if it had been penned 
from the observation of them, and for their immediate 
Denefit : while, like the sacred Scriptures, it remains 
a sealed book to all who are strangers to evangelical 
religion. 

These remarks may very properly be concluded with 
the words of a justly admired poet of the present day, 
who in the following lines has fully sanctioned all 
that has been here advanced — 

11 Oh thou, whom, borne on Fancy's eager wing 
Back to the season of life's happy spring, 
I pleas'd remember, and while mem'iy yet 
Holds fast her office here, can ne'er forget, 



PREFACE. 

Ingenious dreamer, in whose well-told tale 

Sweet fiction and sweet truth alike prevail, 

Whose hum'rous vein, strong sense, and simple style, 

May teach the gayest, make the gravest smile, 

Witty, and well employ r d, and, like thy Lord, 

Speaking in parables his slighted word — 

I name thee not, lest so despis'd a name 

Should move a sneer at thy deserved fame ; 

Yet e'en in transitory life's late day 

That mingles all my 'brown with sober gray, 

Revere the man. whose Pilgrim marks the road 

And guides the Progress of the soul to God. 

'Twere well with most, if books that could engage 

Their childhood, pleas'd them at a riper age ; 

The man approving what had charnrd the boy, 

Would die at last in comfort, peace, and joy. 

And not with curses on his art who stole 

The gem of truth from his unguarded soul" 

Cowper, Tirocinium, v. 129. 



In respect of the present edition of the " Pilgrim's 
Progress" it may be proper to observe, that it having 
become general to publish every approved work in 
such a style of elegance, and with such decorations, 
as may recommend it to a place in the collections of 
the curious and affluent, and thus attract the notice of 
those who would perhaps otherwise have overlooked 
it ; something of this nature was proposed by the pro- 
prietors of this edition, who deemed it requisite that 
it should be accompanied with original explanatory 
notes. Several persons have indeed already favoured 
the public with illustrations of this kind : but as the 
proprietors did not deem that consideration a sufficient 
reason for omitting this part of their design ; so the 
editor, on mature deliberation, did not think himself 
precluded by it from communicating his sentiments on 
a favourite book, according to a plan he had formed in 
his own mind. Every man, who thinks for himself, 
has his own view of a subject, which commonly va- 
ries, more or less, from the sentiments of others, 
whom he nevertheless esteems and loves with great 
cordiality : and the great Head of the church has in- 
trusted different talents to his servants, to qualify them 
for usefulness among distinct descriptions of persons. 
It is indeed incontrovertible, that some men will re- 
ceive the great truths of Christianity with candor and 
docility, when exhibited in a style and manner suited 
tp their peculiar taste, who disregard and reject them, 



PREFACE. 4? 

ttrhen conveyed in language which numbers, perhaps 
justly, think far more interesting and affecting. It 
need not, therefore, be apprehended, that the labours of 
different writers on the same subject should materially 
interfere with each other; rather we may indulge a 
hope, that, as far as they accord to the standard of 
divine truth, they will, in different circles, promote the 
common cause of vital godliness. 

The editor's aim, in this attempt to elucidate the 
" Pilgrim's Progress," is, to give a brief key to the grand 
outlines of the allegory, from Which the attentive 
reader may obtain a general idea of the author's design 
as he proceeds ; to bestow more pains in fixing the 
precise meaning of those parts, which might most per- 
plex the reader, and which seem to have most escaped 
the notice, or divided the sentiments of expositors; to 
state and establish, compendiously but clearly, those 
doctrinal, practical, and experimental views of Chris- 
tianity, which Mr. Bunyan meant to convey, guarding 
them carefully from those extremes and perversions 
which he never favoured, but which too frequently 
increase men's prejudices against them ; to delineate 
the more prominent features of his various characters-, 
with a special reference to the present state of religi- 
ous profession, and with cautions to the reader, to 
distinguish accurately what he approves from the 
defects even of true pilgrims : and, in fine, to give as 
just a representation, as may be, of the author's senti- 
ments concerning the right way to heaven ; and of the 
many false ways, and bye-paths, which prove injurious 
to all who venture into them, and fatal to unnumbered 
multitudes. In executing this plan, no information 
that he can procure is neglected; but he does not 
invariably adhere to the sentiments of any man : and 
while his dependance is placed, as he hopes, on the 
promised teaching of the Holy Spirit, he does not 
think himself authorized to spare any pains in endea- 
vouring to render the publication acceptable and useful. 

The text is, in most places, printed as it stands in 
those old editions, which may be supposed to contain 
the author's own terms ; which later editors have fre- 
quently modernized. A few obsolete or unclassical 



8l PREFACE. 

words, and unusual phrases, seem to become the cha- 
racter of the Pilgrim ; and they are often more em- 
phatical than any which can be substituted in their 
stead. A few exceptions, however, are made to this 
rule ; as the author, if living, would certainly change 
same expressions for others less offensive to modern 
ears. Great pains have been taken to collate different 
copies of the work, and to examine every scriptural 
reference ; in order to render this edition, in all re- 
spects, as correct as possible. The author's marginal 
references seemed so essential a part of the work, 
that it was deemed indispensably requisite to insert 
them in their places. But as the other marginal notes 
cLo not appear to convey any material instruction dis- 
tinct from that contained in the text, and to be princi- 
pally useful in pointing out any passage, to which the 
reader might wish to refer, it was thought most ad- 
visable to omit them. 

Mr. Bunyan prefixed to each part of the " Pilgrim's 
Progress" a copy of verses : but as his poetry does not 
much suit the taste of these days, it hath been deemed 
expedient to omit them. That prefixed to the first part 
is entitled, " The Author's Apology for his Book ;" but 
it is now generally allowed, that the book, so far from 
needing an apology, indeed merits the highest com- 
mendation. -In this he informs us, that he was una- 
wares drawn into the allegory, when employed about 
another work ; that the farther he proceeded, the more 
rapidly did ideas flow into his mind ; that this induced 
him to form it into a separate book ; and that showing 
it to his friends, 

" Some said, John, print it ; others said, Not so : 
Some said. It might do good ; others said, No." 

The public will not hesitate in determining which 
opinion was the result of the deeper penetration ; but 
will wonder, that a long apology for such a publication 
should have been deemed necessary. This was, 
however, the case; and the author, having solidly, 
though rather verbosely, answered several objections, 
and adduced some obvious arguments in very un- 
poetical rhymes, concludes with these lines, which 
may serve as a favourable specimen of the whole :— 



PREFACE. * 

* Would'st thou divert thyself from melancholy ? 
Would'st thou be pleasant, yet be far from folly 7 
Would'st thou read riddles and their explanation? 
Or else be drowned in thy contemplation ? 
Dost thou love picking meat? Or would'st thou see 
A man i' the clouds, and hear him speak to thee ? 
Would'st thou be in a dream, and yet not sleep ? 
Or would'st thou in a moment laugh and weep ? 
Or would'st thou lose thyself, and catch no harm? 
And find thyself again without a charm ? 
Would'st read thyself, and read thou know'st not what, 
And yet know whether thou art blest or not, 
By reading the same lines ? O then come hither, 
And lay my book, thy heart and head together. ; ' 

The poem prefixed to the second part, in a kind of 
dialogue with his book, is less interesting ; and serves 
to show, that the pious author had a more favourable 
opinion of its comparative merit than posterity has 
formed : which is no singular case. It is, therefore, 
presumed, that the omission of it in this edition will 
not be thought to require any farther apology with the 
more judicious admirers of the work. Some verses 
are likewise found at the bottom of certain plates that 
accompanied the old editions, which they, who omit 
the plates, or substitute others, know not where to 
insert. To show all regard, however, to every thing 
that Mr. Bunyan wrote as a part of the work, such as 
are most material may be found in the notes on the 
incidents to which they refer. 

T. SCOTT, 



THE LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. 



The celebrated author of the " Pilgrim's Progress" 
was born, A. D. 1628, at Elstow, a small village near 
Bedford. His father earned his bread by the low 
occupation of a common tinker ; but he bore a fair 
character, and took care that his son, whom he brought 
up to the same business, should be taught to read 
and write. We are told, indeed, that he quickly forgot 
all he had learned, through his extreme profligacy ; 
yet it is probable that he retained so much as enabled 
him to recover the rest when his mind became better 
disposed, and that it was very useful to him 'in the sub- 
sequent part of his life. 

The materials, from which an account of this valua- 
ble man must be compiled, are so scanty and confused, 
that nothing very satisfactory should be expected. He 
seems from Jiis earliest youth to have been greatly 
addicted to impiety and profligacy ; yet he was inter- 
rupted in his course by continual alarms and convic- 
tions, which were sometimes peculiarly overwhelming, 
but had no other effect at the time than to extort 
from him the most absurd wishes that can be imagined. 
A copious narrative of these early conflicts and crimes 
is contained in a treatise, published by himself, under 
the title of " Grace abounding to the chief of Sinners." 

During this part of his life he was twice preserved 
from the most imminent danger of drowning : and being 
a soldier in the parliament's army at the siege of Lei- 
cester, A. D. 1645, he was drawn out to stand sentinel ; 
but one of his comrades, having by his own desire taken 
his place, was shot through the head on his post ; and 
thus Bunyan was reserved by the all-disposing hand 
of God for better purposes. He seems, however, to 
have made progressive advances in wickedness, and 



LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. 11 

to have become the ringleader of youth in every kind 
of profaneness and excess. 

His career of vice received a considerable check, in 
consequence of his marriage with the daughter of a 
person, who had been very religious in his way, and 
remarkably bold in reproving vice, but who was then 
dead. His wife's discourse to him concerning her 
father's piety excited him to go regularly to church ; 
and as she brought him, for her whole portion, " The 
practice of Piety," and the " Plain Man's Pathway to 
Heaven," he employed himself frequently in reading 
these books. 

The events recorded of our author are so destitute 
of dates, or regard to the order in which they happened, 
that no clear arrangement can now be made of them ; 
but it is probable that this new attention to religion, 
though ineffectual to the reformation of his conduct, 
rendered him more susceptible of convictions ; and 
his vigorous imagination, at that time wholly unre- 
strained by knowledge or discretion, laid him open to 
a variety of impressions, sleeping and waking, which 
he verily supposed to arise from words spoken to him, 
or objects presented before his bodily senses ; and he 
never after was able to break the association of ideas 
thus formed in his mind. Accordingly, he says, that 
one day, when he was engaged in diversion with his 
companions, " A voice did suddenly dart from heaven 
into my soul, which said, ' Wilt thou leave thy sins 
and go to heaven, or have thy sins and go to hell ?' " 
The consciousness of his wicked course of life, accom- 
panied with the recollection of the truths he had read, 
suddenly meeting, as it were, in his mind, thus pro- 
duced a violent alarm, and made such an impression 
on his imagination, that he seemed to have heard 
these words, and to have seen Christ frowning and 
menacing him. But we must not suppose that there 
was any miracle wrought ; nor could there be any 
occasion for a new revelation to suggest or enforce 
bo scriptural a warning. This may serve as a speci- 
men of those impressions, which constitute a large 
part of his religious experience ; but which need not 
b« particularized in this place. 



B THE LIFE OF 

He was next tempted to conclude, that it was too 
late to repent or seek salvation ; and, as he ignorantly 
listened to the suggestion, he indulged his corrupt in- 
clinations without restraint, imagining that this was 
the only way in which he could possibly have the least 
expectation of pleasure. 

While he was proceeding in this wretched course, 
a woman of very bad character reproved him with 
great severity for profane swearing; declaring, in the 
strongest expressions, that he exceeded in it 'all men 
she had ever heard. This made him greatly ashamed, 
when he reflected that he was too vile even for such 
a bad woman to endure : so that from that time he 
began to break off that odious custom. His guilty and 
terrified mind was also prepared to admit the most 
alarming impressions during his sleep ; and he had 
such a dream about the day of judgment, and its awful 
circumstances and consequences, as powerfully influ- 
enced his conduct. There was, indeed, nothing extra- 
ordinary in this, for such dreams are not uncommon 
to men under deep convictions ; yet the Lord was 
doubtless, by all these means, secretly influencing his 
heart, and warning him to flee from the wrath to come. 

He was, however, reluctant to part with his irreli- 
gious associates and vain pleasures ; till the conversa- 
tion of a poor man, who came in his way, induced him 
to read the Bible, especially the preceptive and histo- 
rical parts of it; and this put him upon an entire 
reformation of his conduct, insomuch that his neigh- 
bours were greatly astonished at the change which 
they had witnessed. In this maimer he went on for 
about a year ; at some times satisfied with himself, 
and at others distressed with fears and consciousness 
of guilt. He seems ever after to have considered all 
the convictions and desires which he at this time ex- 
perienced, as wholly originating from natural princi- 
ples ; but in this, perhaps, some persons will venture to 
dissent from him. A self-righteousness, accompanied 
with self-complacency, and furnishing incentives to 
pride, is indeed a full proof of unregeneracy. But 
conscientiousness, connected with disquietudes, humi- 
liation for sin, and a disposition to wait for divine 



JOHN BUNYAN. 10 

teaching, is an effect and evidence of life, though the 
mind be yet darkened with ignorance, error, and preju- 
dice. And he that hath given life will give it more 
abundantly; for "the path of the just is as the shining 
light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect 
day." 

While Bunyan was in this state of mind he went, 
in the course of his trade as a tinker, to Bedford ; where 
he overheard some women discoursing about regenera- 
tion; and though he could not understand their meaning, 
he was greatly affected by observing the earnestness, 
cheerfulness, and humility of their behaviour ; and was 
also convinced, that his views of religion were at that 
time very defective. Being thus led to frequent their 
company, he was brought as it were into a new world. 
Such an entire change took place in his sentiments, 
dispositions, and affections ; and Iris mind was so 
deeply engaged in contemplating the great concerns of 
eternity, and the things pertaining to the kingdom of 
God, that he found it very difficult to employ his 
thoughts on any secular affairs. 

But this extraordinary flow of affections, not being 
attended by a proportionable measure of doctrinal in- 
formation, laid him open to various attempts of Satan 
and his emissaries. The Ranters, a set of the vilest an- 
tinomians that almost ever existed, first assailed him by 
one of their party, who had formerly been Mr. Bunyan's 
companion in vice ; but he over-acted his part ; and, 
proceeding even to deny the being of a God, probably 
furnished the character of Atheist in the " Pilgrim's 
Progress." While Mr. Bunyan was engaged in read- 
ing the books of the Ranters, not being able to form, 
his judgment about them, he was led to offer up the 
following prayer : — " O Lord, I am a fool, and not able 
to know the truth from error : Lord, leave me not to 
my own blindness, either to approve or condemn this 
doctrine. If it be of God, let me not despise it; if it 
be of the devil, let me not embrace it. Lord, I lay 
my soul in this matter only at thy foot ; let me not be 
deceived, I humbly beseech thee." This most suitable 
request the Lord graciously answered; he soon saw 
through the delusions of the Ranters ; and probably 



14 THE LIFE OF 

referred to them, under the character of Self-will, in 
the second part of this work. 

The Epistles of St. Paul, which he now read with 
great attention, but without any guide or instructer, 
gave occasion to his being assaulted by many sore 
temptations. He found the apostle continually speak- 
ing of faith ; and he could find no way by which he 
might understand the meaning of that word, or dis- 
cover whether he was a believer or not ; so that, mis- 
taking the words of Christ, (Matt, xvii, 20,) he was 
tempted to seek a solution of his difficulty by trying 
to work a miracle ; he thought, however, it would be 
right to pray before he made the attempt, and this in- 
duced him to desist, though his difficulties still re- 
mained. He was delivered from great perplexities 
about the doctrine of election, by reflecting, that none 
" ever trusted in God and was confounded ;" and 
therefore it would be best for him to trust in God, and 
leave election, as a " secret thing," with the Lord, to 
whom it belonged. And the general invitations of the 
Gospel, and the assurance that " yet there is room," 
helped him to repel the temptation to conclude that 
the day of grace was past. 

This brief account of Ms temptations and escapes 
may teach others the best way of resisting similar 
suggestions ; and it shews us that numbers are durably 
harrassed by such perplexities, for want of doctrinal 
knowledge and faithful instructers and counsellors. 
He was, however, afterwards enabled, by means of 
these inward trials, to caution others to better effect, 
and more tenderly to S3-mpathize with the tempted. 

After some time Mr. Bunyan became acquainted 
with Mr. Gifford, an Antipsedobaptist minister, at Bed- 
ford, whose conversation was very useful to him : yet 
he was in some respects more discouraged than ever, 
by fuller discoveries of those evils in his heart which 
he had not before noticed ; and by doubts concerning 
the truth of the Scriptures, which his entire ignorance 
of the evidences by which they are authenticated ren- 
dered durably perplexing to him. He was, however, 
at length relieved by a sermon he heard on the love 
of Christ; though the grounds, on which he deiived 






JOHN BUNYAN. 15 

satisfaction and encouragement from it, are not very 
accurately stated. Soon after this he was admitted, 
by adult baptism, a member of Mr. Gifford's church, 
A. D. 1655, being then twemy-seven years of age ; and 
after a little time was earnestly desired by the congre- 
gation to expound or preach, in a manner which is 
customary among the dissenters, as a preparation to 
the ministry. For a while he resisted their importu- 
nity, under a deep sense of his incompetency ; but at 
length he was prevailed upon to speak in a small com- 
pany, which he did greatly to their satisfaction and 
edification. ■ Having been thus proved for a considerable 
time, he was at length called forth, and set apart by 
fasting and prayer to the ministerial office, which he 
executed with faithfulness and success during a long 
course of years ; though frequently with the greatest 
trepidation and inward disquietude. 

As he was baptized 1655, and imprisoned 1660, he 
could not have been long engaged in the work previous 
to that event ; and it does not appear whether he ob- 
tained a stated employment as a minister, or whether 
he only preached occasionally, and continued to work 
at his trade, as many dissenters very laudably do when 
called to minister among poor people, that they may 
not be " burthensome to them." Previous, however, 
to the restoration of Charles II., when the churches 
were principally filled by those who have since been 
distinguished, as nonconformists, he was expected to 
preach in a church near Cambridge ; and a student of 
that university, not remarkable for sobriety, observing 
a concourse of people, was induced by curiosity to 
hear " the tinker prate :" but the discourse made an 
unexpected impression on his mind; he embraced 
every future opportunity of hearing Mr. Bunyan ; and at 
length became an eminent preacher in Cambridgeshire. 

When the restoration took place, and, contrary to 
equity, engagements, and sound policy, the laws were 
framed and executed with a severity, evidently in- 
tended to exclude every man who scrupled the least 
tittle of the doctrine, liturgy, discipline, or government 
of the established church, Mr. Bunyan was one of the 
first that suffered by them: for, being courageous 



16 THE LIFE OF 

and unreserved, he went on in his ministerial work 
without any disguise ; and November 12, 1660, was 
apprehended by a warrant from justice Wingate, at 
Harlington, near Bedford, with sixty other persons, and 
committed to the comity jail. Security was offered 
for his appearance at the sessions, but it was refused, 
as his sureties would not consent that he should be 
restricted from preaching any more. He was accord- 
ingly confined till the quarter-sessions, when his in- 
dictment stated, " That John Bunyan, of the town of 
Bedford, labourer, had devilishly and perniciously ab- 
stained from coming to church to hear divine service ; 
and was a common upholder of several unlawful meet- 
ings and conventicles, to the great disturbance and 
extraction of the good subjects of this kingdom, con- 
trary to the laws of our sovereign Lord the King." 
The facts charged upon him in this absurd indictment 
were never proved, as no witnesses were produced. 
He had confessed, in conversation with the magis- 
trates, that he was a dissenter, and had preached; 
these words, being considered as equivalent to con- 
viction, were recorded against him, and as he refused 
to conform, he Avas sentenced to perpetual banish- 
ment. This sentence, indeed, was not executed ; but 
he was confined in Bedford jail more than twelve 
years, notwithstanding several attempts were made 
to obtain his deliverance ! 

During this tedious imprisonment, or, at least, part 
of it, he had no books, except a Bible, and Fox's Mar- 
tyrology : yet in this situation he penned the " Pilgrim's 
Progress," and many other treatises. He was only 
thirty-two years of age when he was imprisoned ; he 
had spent his youth in the most disadvantageous 
manner imaginable ; had been no more than five years 
•a member of the church at Bedford ; and less time a 
preacher of the Gospel : yet in this admired allegory 
he appears to have been most intimately acquainted 
with all the variety of characters which ministers, 
long employed in the sacred service, and eminent for 
judgment and sagacity, have observed among profes- 
sors or opposers of evangelical truth ! • 

No fewer than sixty dissenters, and two ministers, 



JOHN BUNYAN. 17 

were confined with Mr. Bunyan in this jail; and as 
some were discharged, others were committed, during 
the time of his imprisonment : but this painful situation 
afforded liim an opportunity of privately exercising his 
ministry to good effect. He learned in prison to make 
tagged thread laces in the intervals of his other la- 
bours, and by this employment provided in the most 
unexceptionable manner for himself and his family. 
He seems to have been endued with extraordinary pa- 
tience and courage, and to have experienced abundant 
consolations while enduring these hardships : he was 
however sometimes distressed about his family, espe- 
cially his eldest daughter, who was blind ; but in these 
trying seasons he received comfort from meditating on 
the promises of Scripture (Jer. xv, 11; xlix, 11.) 

He was at some times favoured by the jailers, and 
permitted to see his family and friends ; and, during 
the former part of his imprisonment, was even allowed 
to go out occasionally, and once to take a journey to 
London, probably to see whether some legal redress 
might not be obtained, according to some intimations 
given by Sir Matthew Hale, when petitions in his fa- 
vour were laid before the judges. But this indulgence 
of the jailer exposing him to great danger, Mr. Bunyan 
was afterwards more closely confined. Hence I sup- 
pose has arisen the opinion, which commonly prevails, 
that he was imprisoned at different times : but he 
seems never to have been set at liberty, and then 
re-committed ; though his hardships and restraints 
were greater at one time than at another. 

In the last year of his imprisonment, (A. D. 1671) he 
was chosen pastor of the dissenting church at Bedford; 
though it does not appear what opportunity he could 
have of exercising his pastoral office, except within the 
precincts of the jail. He was, however, liberated soon 
after, through the good offices of Dr. Barlow, bishop of 
Lincoln, after many fruitless attempts had been made 
for that purpose. Thus terminated his tedious, severe, 
and even illegal, imprisonment, which had given him 
abundant opportunity for the exercise of patience and 
meekness ; and which seems to have been overruled, 
both for Ins own spiritual improvement, and the fur- 



Iff THE LIFE OP 

therance of the Gospel, by leading him to study, and 
to form habits of close reflection, and accurate investi- 
gation of various subjects, in order to pen his several 
treatises ; when probably he would neither have 
thought so deeply, nor written so well, had he been 
more at ease and at liberty. 

A short time after his enlargement he butft a meet- 
ing-house at Bedford, by the voluntary contributions 
of his friends ; and here he statedly preached to large 
auditories, till his death, without meeting with any 
remarkable molestation. He used to come up to Lon- 
don every year, where he preached among the non- 
conformists with great acceptance ; and it is said that 
Dr. Owen frequently attended on these occasions, and 
expressed his approbation in very decided language. 
He also made stated circuits into other parts of Eng- 
land ; and animated his brethren to bear the cross pa- 
tiently, to obey God rather than man, and to leave all 
consequences with him. He was at the same time 
peculiarly attentive to the temporal wants of those 
who suffered for conscience-sake, and of the sick or 
afflicted ; and he employed his influence very success- 
fully, in reconciling differences among professors of 
the Gospel, and thus preventing disgraceful and bur- 
thensome litigations. He was very exact in family- 
religion, and the instruction of his children; being 
principally concerned for their spiritual interests, and 
comparatively indifferent about their temporal prospe- 
rity. He therefore declined the liberal proposal of a 
wealthy citizen of London, to take his son as an ap- 
prentice without any premium, saying, " God did not 
send me to advance my family, but to prea€h the Gos- 
pel;" probably disliking the business, or situation, as 
•unfavourable to piety. 

Nothing material is recorded concerning him be- 
tween his enlargement in 1672, and his death in 1688. 
It is said, that he clearly saw through the designs of 
the court in favour of popery, when the indulgence 
was granted to the dissenters, by James II., in 1687: 
but that he advised his brethren to avail themselves 
of the sunshine, by diligent endeavours to spread the 
Gospel ; and to prepare for an approaching storm by 



JOHN BTJNYAN. 19 

fasting and prayer. The next year he took a journey 
in very bad weather from London to Reading, Berks, 
to make up a breach between a father and his son, with 
whom he had some acquaintance ; and having happily 
effected his last work and labour of love, he returned 
to his lodgings on Snow-hill, apparently in good 
health ; but very wet with the heavy rain that was then 
falling ; and soon after he was seized with a fever, 
which in ten days terminated his useful life. He bore 
his malady with great patience and composure, and 
died in a very comfortable and triumphant manner, 
Aug. 31, 1688, aged sixty years ; after having exercised 
his ministry about thirty-two. He lies buried in Bun- 
hill-fields, where a tombstone to his memory may still 
be seen. He was twice married ; by his first wife he 
left four children, one of which, a daughter, named 
Mary, who was blind, died before him. He was mar- 
ried to his second wife A. D. 1658, two years before his 
imprisonment, by whom he seems not to have had any 
children: she survived him about four years. Con- 
cerning the other branches of his family we have not 
been able to gain any information. 

Mr. Bunyan was tall and broad set, though not cor- 
pulent ; he had a ruddy complexion, with sparkling 
eyes, and hair inclining to red, but, in his old age, 
sprinkled with gray. His whole appearance was plain, 
and his dress always simple and unaffected. He pub- 
lished sixty tracts, which equalled the number of years 
he lived. The " Pilgrim's Progress" had passed through 
more than fifty editions in 1784. 

His character seems to have been uniformly good 
from the time when he was brought acquainted with 
the blessed Gospel of Christ : and though his counte- 
nance was rather stern, and his manner rough, yet he 
was very mild, modest, and affable, in his behaviour. 
He was backward to speak much, except on particular 
occasions, and remarkably averse to boasting; ready 
to submit to the judgment of others, and disposed to 
forgive injuries, to follow peace with all men, and to 
employ himself as a peace-maker : yet he was steady 
to his principles, and bold in reproving sin without 
respect of persons. Many slanders were spread con- 



20 LIFE OP JOHN BUNYAN. 

cerning him during the course of his ministry, some 
of which he refuted ; they have however all died away, 
and no one now pretends to say any thing to his dis- 
advantage, except as his firm attachment to his creed, 
and his practice as a Calvanist, a dissenter, and an 
Antipaedobaptist, has been called bigotry ; and as the 
account given of his own experience has been misun- 
derstood, or misrepresented. 

He was undoubtedly endued with extraordinary 
natural talents ; his understanding, discernment, me- 
mory, invention, and imagination, were remarkably 
sound and vigorous : so that he made very great pro- 
ficiency in the knowledge of scriptural divinity, though 
brought up in ignorance ; but he never made much 
progress in human learning. Even such persons as 
did not favour his religious principles have done am- 
ple justice to his mental powers. The celebrated Dr. 
Johnson ranks the " Pilgrim's Progress" among a very 
few books indeed, of which the reader, when he comes 
to the conclusion, wishes they had been longer ; and 
allows it to rank high among the works of original 
genius. (Piozzi's Anecdotes of Johnson, Bos well's Life 
of Johnson, vol. ii, p. 97, 2d edit.) But it is above all 
things wonderful, that Bunyan's imagination, fertile and 
vigorous in a very great degree, and wholly untutored 
by the rules of learning, should in this instance have 
been so disciplined by sound judgment, and deep ac- 
quaintance with the Scripture, as to produce, in the 
form of an allegory, one of the fairest and most unex- 
ceptionable treatises on the system of Calvinism? that 
can be found in the English language. In several of his 
other publications his imagination sometimes carried 
him beyond just bounds : but here he avoids all ex- 
tremes, and seems not to deviate either to the right 
hand or to the left. Perhaps, as he was himself liable to 
depression of spirit, and had passed through deep dis- 
tresses, the view he gives of the pilgrim's temptations 
may be too gloomy ; but he has shown in the course of 
the work, that this arose principally from inadequate 
views of evangelical truth, and the want of Christian 
communion, with the benefits to be derived from the 
counsels of a faithful, minister. T. SCOTT. 



THE 

PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 



PART I. . i 

As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I 
lighted on a certain place where was a den,* and laid 
me down in that place to sleep; and as I slept I 
dreamed a dream. I dreamed, and behold, I saw t a 

* Mr. Bunyan was confined, at different times, about twelve years 
in Bedford jail, for exercising his ministry contrary to the statutes then 
in force. This was " the den, in which he slept and dreamed :" hera 
he penned this instructive allegory, and many other useful works, 
which evince that he was neither soured nor disheartened by persecu- 
tion. The Christian, who understands what usage he ought to expecfc 
in this evil world, comparing our present measure of religious liberty 
with the rigours of that age, will see abundant cause for gratitude ; 
but they, who are disposed to complain, can never be at a loss for 
topics, while so much is amiss among all ranks and orders of men, and 
In the conduct of every individual. 

t " I saw" — The allegory opens with a description of the principal 
character to which it relates. The view, which the author in his dream 
had of him, as " clothed in rags," implies, that all men are sinners, in 
their dispositions, affections, and conduct; that their supposed virtues 
are radically defective, and worthless in the sight of God ; that the 
pilgrim has discovered this in his own case, so that he perceives hi3 
own righteousnesses to be insufficient for justification, even as sordid 
rags would be unsuitable raiment for those who stand before kings« 
His " face turned from his own house" represents the sinner convinced 
that it is absolutely necessary to subordinate all other concerns to the 
care of his immortal soul, and to renounce every thing which inter- 
feres with that grand object : this makes him lose his former relish for 
the pleasures of sin, and even for the most lawful temporal satisfactions, 
while he trembles at the thought of impending destruction (Heb. xi, 
8. 24—27.) " The book in his hand," &c. instructs us, that sinners 
discover their real state and character, by reading and believing the 
Scriptures ; that their first attention is often directed to the denuncia- 
tions of the wrath to come contained in them, and that such persons 
cannot but continue to search the word of God, though their grief and 
alarm be increased by every perusal. The " burthen on his back" 
represents that distressing sense of guilt, and fear of wrath, which 
deeply-convinced sinners cannot shake off ; " the remembrance of their 
■ins is grievous to them, the burthen of them is intolerable:" their 
consciences are oppressed with guilt, even on account of those actions 
In which their neighbours perceive no harm ; their hearts tremble at 
the prospect of dangers of which others have no apprehension : and 



22 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

man clothed with rags, standing in a certain place, 
with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, 
and a great burthen upon his back (Isa. Ixiv, 6 ; Luke 
xiv, 33; Psal. xxxviii, 4; Hab. ii, 2.) I looked, and 
saw him open the book and read therein ; and as he 
read he wept and trembled ; and, not being able longer 
to contain, he brake out with a lamentable cry, saying, 
"What shall I do ?" (Acts ii, 37.) 

In this plight * therefore he went home, and refrained 
himself as long as he could, that his wife and children 
should not perceive his distress ; but he could not be 

they see an absolute necessity of escaping from a situation in which 
others live most securely: tor true faith, from the very first, "sees 
things that are invisible." In one way or other, therefore, they soon 
manifest the earnestness of their minds, in inquiring " what they must 
do to be saved?" The circumstances of these humiliating couvictiona 
exceedingly vary ; but the life of faith and grace always" begins with 
them: and they, who are wholly strangers to this experience, are 
Christians only in name and form ;— 

" He knows no hope, who never knew a fear." — Coicper. 

* *' In this plight" — The contempt or indignation, which worldly 
people express towards those who are distressed in conscience, com- 
monly induces them to conceal their inquietude as long as they can s 
even from their relatives ; but this soon becomes impracticable. Na- 
tural affection also, connected with a view of the extreme danger to 
which a man sees the objects of his most tender attachments exposed, 
but of which they have no apprehensions, will extort such earnest 
representations, warnings, and entreaties, as are here expressed. The 
city of Destruction (as it is afterwards called) signifies this present 
evil world, as doomed to the flames ; or the condition of careless sin- 
ners, immersed in secular pursuits and pleasures, neglecting eternal 
things, and exposed to the unquenchable fire of hell, "at the day of 
judgment and perdition of ungodly men." They who are ignorant 
of the Scriptures, and unaccustomed to compare their own conduct 
with the, divine law, will be amazed at such discourse ; and, instead 
of duly regarding the warnings given them, will commonly ascribe 
them to enthusiasm or insanity ; and as prophets, apostles, and the 
Son of God himself, were looked upon in this light by their contempo- 
raries, we may be sure that no prudence, excellence, or benevolence 
can exempt the consistent believer from the trial. Near relations will 
generally be the first to form this opinion of his case ; and will devise 
various expedients to quiet his mind : diversions, company, feastings, 
absence from serious friends or books, will be prescribed: and by these 
means a false peace often succeeds a transient alarm. But when a 
genuine humiliating discovery of the evil and desert of sin has been 
made to the soul, such expedients will not alleviate, but increase, the 
anguish ; and will be followed by still greater earnestness about a 
man's own salvation, and that of others. This commonly strengthen* 
prejudice, and induces obduracy: and contemptuous pity gives place 
to resentment, ill usage, derision, or neglect. The disconsolate be- 
liever will then be driven into retirement, and relieve his burthened 
mind by reading the Scriptures, and meditation on his doleful case, 
with compassionate prayers for his despisers : and thus he sows in 
tears that seed from which the harvest of his future joy will iurely 
be produced. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 23 

silent long, because that his trouble increased ; where- 
fore at length he brake his mind to his wife and chil- 
c|jen, and thus he began to talk to them : " my dear 
wife," said he, " and you the children of my bowels, I 
your dear friend am in myself undone, by reason of a 
burthen that lieth hard upon me : moreover, I am cer- 
tainly informed that this our city will be burned with 
fire from heaven; in which fearful overthrow, both 
myself, with thee my wife, and you my sweet babes, 
shall miserably come to ruin, except (the which yet I 
see not) some way of escape may be found, whereby 
we may be delivered." At this his relations were sore 
amazed ; not for that they believed that what he had 
said to them was true, but because they thought some 
frenzy distemper had got into his head ; therefore, it 
drawing towards night, and they hoping that sleep 
might settle his brains, with all haste they got him to 
bed : but the night was as troublesome to him as the 
day ; wherefore, instead of sleeping, he spent it in 
sighs and tears. So when the morning was come they 
would know how he did: he told them "worse and 
worse." He also set to talking to them again, but they 
began to be hardened. They also thought to drive 
away his distemper by harsh and surly carriage to 
him ; sometimes they would deride, sometimes they 
would chide, and sometimes they would quite neglect 
him. Wherefore he began to retire himself to his 
chamber, to pray for and pity them; and also to con- 
dole his own misery. He would also walk solitarily 
in the fields, sometimes reading and sometimes pray- 
ing ; and thus for some days he spent his time. 

Now I saw * upon a time when he was walking in 
the fields, that he was (as he was wont) reading in his 
book, and greatly distressed in his mind; and as he 



* "Now I saw" — The Scriptures are indeed sufficient to make ua 
wise unto salvation, as well as to shew us our guilt and clanger ; yet 
the Lord commonly uses the ministry of his servants to direct into the 
way of peace, even those who have previously discovered their lost 
condition. Though convinced of the necessity of escaping from 
impending ruin, they hesitate, not knowing what to do, till Provi- 
dence brings them acquainted with some faithful preacher of the 
Gospel, whose instructions afford an explicit answer to their secret 
inquiries after the way of salvation. 



24 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

read, he burst out, as he had done before, crying, 
" What shall I do to be saved V 9 (Acts xvi, 30, 31.) 

I saw also that he looked this way and that wa]j| as 
if he would run ; yet he stood still, because (as I per- 
ceived) he could not tell which way to go. I looked 
then, and saw a man named Evangelist coming to him, 
and he asked, "Wherefore dost thou cry]" 

He answered, Sir, I perceive by the book in my 
hand that I am condemned to* die, and after that to 
come to judgment ; and I find that I am not willing to 
do the first, nor able to do the second, (Heb. ix, 27; 
Job xvi, 21, 22; Ezek. xxii, 14.) 

Then said Evangelist, Why not willing to die, since 
this life is attended with so many evils ? The man 
answered, Because I fear that this burthen that is 
upon my back will sink me lower than the grave, and 
I shall fall into Tophet, (Isa. xxx, 33.) And, Sir, if I 
be not fit to go to prison, I am not fit to go to judg- 
ment, and from thence to execution; and the thoughts 
of these things make me cry. 

Then said Evangelist,* If this be thy condition, 
why standest thou still 1 He answered, Because I 
know not whither to go. Then he gave him a parch- 
ment roll; and there was written within, " Flee from 
the wrath to come," (Matt, hi, 7.) 

The man therefore read it, and, looking upon Evan- 
gelist very carefully, said, Whither must I flee?t 

* " Then said"— The able minister of Christ will deem it necessary 
to enforce the warning, "flee from the wrath to come," even upoa 
those who are alarmed about their souls ; because this is the proper 
way of exciting them to diligence and decision, and of preserving 
them from procrastination. They, therefore, who would persuada 
such persons, that their fears are groundless, their guilt far less than 
they suppose, and their danger imaginary, use the most effectual 
means of soothing them into a fatal security. Nor can any discove- 
ries of heinous guilt or helpless ruin in themselves produce despon- 
dency, provided the salvation of the Gospel be fully exhibited, and 
proposed to them. 

f " Whither"— The awakened dnner may be incapable for a tima 
of perceiving the way of salvation by faith in Christ ; for divine illu- 
mination is often very gradual. Thus, though the pilgrim could not 
see the gate, when Evangelist pointed it out to him, he thought he 
could discern the shining tight. Upright inquirers attend to the gene- 
ral instructions and encouragements of Scripture, and the declara- 
tions of the pardoning mercy of God ; which by degrees lead them to 
the knowledge of Christ, and to faith in him : for as our author say* 
In a marginal note, " Christ, and the way to him, cannot be fouod- 
without the word." Thus instructed, the pilgrim " began to run j** 






WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 25 

Then said Evangelist, pointing with his finger over 
a very wide field, Do you see yonder wicket-gate ? 
(Matt, vii, 13, 14.) The man said No. Then said 
the other, Do you see yonder shining light? (Psal. 
cxix, 105; 2 Pet. i, 19.) He said, I think I do. Then 
said Evangelist, Keep that light in your eye, and go 
up directly thereto, so shalt thou see the gate ; at 
which when thou knockest, it shall be told thee what 
thou shalt do. So I saw in my dream that the man 
began to run. Now he had not run far from his own 
door but his wife and children perceiving it began to 
cry after him to return, (Luke xiv, 26 ;) but the man 
put his fingers in his ears, and ran on, crying " Life ! 
life ! eternal life !" So he looked not behind him (Gen. 
xix, 17 ; 2 Cor. iv, 18,) but fled towards the middle of 
the plain. 
The neighbours* also came out to see him run : and 

for no persuasions or considerations can induce the man, who is duly 
in earnest about salvation, to neglect those things which he knows to 
be his present duty : but it must be expected that carnal relations will 
oppose this ; especially as it appears to them destructive of all their 
prospects of worldly advantage. The following lines are here sul> 
Joined to a very rude engraving :— 

" Christian no sooner leaves the world, but meets 
Evangelist, who lovingly him greets 
With tidings of another ; and doth show 
Him how to mount to that from this below." 

* " The neighbours" — The attention of numbers is in general excited, 
when one of their companions in sin and vanity engages in religion, 
and forsakes the party. He soon becomes the topic of conversation, 
among them : their minds are variously affected : some ridicule, others 
rail, threaten, attempt force, or employ artifice, to withdraw him 
from his purpose ; according to their different dispositions, situations, 
or relations to him. Most of them, however, soon desist, and leave 
him to his choice. But two characters are not so easily shaken off; 
these, our author has named Obstinate and Pliable, to denote their 
opposite propensities. The former, through a resolute pride and stout- 
ness of heart, persists in attempting to bring back the new convert to 
his worldly pursuits : the latter, from a natural easiness of temper and 
susceptibility of impression, is pliant to persuasion, and readily con- 
sents to make a profession of religion. 

The subsequent dialogue admirably illustrates the characters of the 
speakers. Tlhristian (for so he is henceforth called) is firm, decided, 
bold, and sanguine: — Obstinate is profane, scornful, self-sufficient, and 
disposed to contemn God's word, when it interferes with his worldly 
interests : — Pliable is yielding, and easily induced to engage in things, 
ot which he understands neither the nature nor the consequences. 
Christian's plain warnings and earnest entreaties ; Obstinate's con- 
tempt of believers, as " crazy-headed coxcombs." and his excla- 
mation when Pliable inclines to be a pilgrim, "What, more fools 
Gtill ?" are admirably characteristic ; and shew that such things are 
peculiar to no age or place, but always accompany sei-ious godliness, 
as the shadow does the substance. 
C 



26 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

as he ran, some mocked, others threatened, and some 
cried after him to return ; and among those that did 
so there were two that were resolved to fetch him 
back by force. The name of one was Obstinate, and 
the name of the other Pliable. Now by this time the 
man was got a good distance from them , but however 
they were resolved to pursue him, which they did, and 
in a little time they overtook him. Then said the 
man, Neighbours, wherefore are ye come ? They said, 
To persuade you to go back with us; but he said, 
That can by no means be; you dwell, said he, in 
the city of Destruction ; the place also where I was 
born ; I see it to be so ; and dying there, sooner or later, 
you will sink lower than the grave, into a place that 
burns with fire and brimstone : be content, good neigh 
bours, and go along with me. 

What, said Obstinate, and leave our friends and our 
comforts behind us 1 

Yes, said Christian, (for that was his name ;) be- 
cause that all which you shall forsake is not worthy to 
be compared with a little of that that I am seeking to 
enjoy ; and if you will go along with me, and hold it, 
you shall fare as I myself; for there where I go is 
enough and to spare, (Luke xv, 17 ;) come away, and 
prove my words. 

Obst. What are the things you seek, since you leave 
all the world to find them ? 

Chr. I seek an " inheritance incorruptible, unde filed, 
and that fadeth not away : and it is laid up in heaven" 
(1 Pet. i, 4—6 : Heb. xi, 6, 16,) and safe there, to be 
bestowed at the time appointed on them that diligently 
seek it. Read it so, if you will, in my book. 

Tush, said Obstinate, away with your book : will 
you go back with us or no 1 

No, not I, said the other, because I have laid my 
hand to the plough (Luke ix, 62.) 

Obst. Come then, neighbour Pliable, let us turn 
again and go home without him ; there is a company 
of these crazy-headed coxcombs, that when they take 
a fancy by the end are wiser in their own eyes than 
seven men that can render a reason. 

Then said Pliable, Don't revile; if what the good 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 27 

Christian says is true, the things he looks after are 
better than ours; my heart inclines to go with my 
neighbour. 

Obst. What, more fools still 1 be ruled by me, and 
go back ; who knows whither such a brain-sick fellow 
will lead you ? Go back, go back, and be wise. 

Chr. Nay, but do thou come with thy neighbour Plia- 
ble ; there are such things to be had which I spake of, 
and many more glories besides ; if you believe not me, 
read here in this book ; and, for the truth of what is 
expressed therein, behold all is confirmed by the blood 
of him that made it, (Heb. ix. 17—22.) 

Well, neighbour Obstinate, saith Pliable, I begin to 
come to a point ; I intend to go along with this good 
man, and to cast in my lot with him ; but, my good 
companion, do you know the way to this desired 
place ? 

Chr. I am directed by a man, whose name is Evan- 
gelist, to speed me to a little gate that is before us, 
where we shall receive instructions about the way. 

Pli. Come then, good neighbour, let us be going. 
Then they went both together. 

And I will go back to my place, said Obstinate ; I 
will be no companion of such misled fantastical fel- 
lows. 

Now I saw* in my dream, that when Obstinate was 



* " Now I saw"— This conversation between Christian and Pliable 
marks the difference in their characters, as well as the measure of the 
new convert's attainments. The want of a due apprehension of eter- 
nal things is evidently the primary defect of all who oppose or neglect 
religion ; but more maturity of judgment and experience are requisite 
to discover, that many professors are equally strangers to a realizing 
view " of the powers and terrors of what is yet unseen." The men 
represented by Pliable disregard these subjects ; they inquire eagerly 
about the good things to be enjoyed, but not in any proportion about 
the way of salvation, the difficulties to be encountered, or the danger 
of coming short : and new converts, being zealous, sanguine, and 
unsuspecting, are naturally led to enlarge on the descriptions of hea- 
venly felicity given in Scripture. As these are generally figurative or 
negative, such unhumbled professors, annexing carnal ideas to them, 
are greatly delighted ; and, not being retarded by any distressing 
remorse and terror, or feeling the opposition of corrupt nature, they 
are often more zealous, and seem to proceed faster in external duties 
than true converts. They take it for granted that all the privileges of 
the Gospel belong to them ; and. being very confident, zealous, and 
joyful, they often censure those who are really fighting the good fight 
of faith. There are also systems diligently propagated, which mar- 
vellously encourage this delusion, excite a high flow of false aflections, 



88 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 

gone back, Christian and Pliable went talking - over the 
plain; and thus they began their discourse. 

Chr. Come, neighbour Pliable, how do you do? I 
am glad you are persuaded to go along with me ; had 
even Obstinate himself but felt what I have felt of the 
powers and terrors of what is yet unseen, he would 
not thus lightly have given us the back. 

PH. Come, neighbour Christian, since there are none 
but us two here, teD me now farther, what the things 
are, and how to be enjoyed, whither we are going-. 

Chr. I can better conceive of them with my mind 
than speak of them with my tongue ; but yet, since 
you are desirous to know, I will read of them in my 
book. 

PH. And do you think that the words of your book 
are certainly true 1 

Chr. Yes, verily, for it was made by him that cannot 
lie, (Tit. i, 2.) 

PH. Well said ; what things' are they ? 

Chr. There is an endless kingdom to be inhabited, 
and everlasting life to be given us, that we may inha- 
bit that kingdom for ever, (Isa. xlv, 17 ; Johnx, 27 — 29.) 

Pli. Well said ; and what else 1 

Chr. There are crowns of glory to be given us ; and 
garments that will make us shine like the sun in the 
firmament of heaven, (2 Tim. iv, 8 ; Rev. xxii, 5 ; Matt, 
xiii. 43.) 

PH. This is very pleasant; and what else ? 

Chr. There shall be no more crying nor sorrow ; for 
he that is owner of the place will wipe all tears from 
our e_yes, (Isa. xxv, 8; Rev. vii, 16, 17 ; xxi, 4.) 

PH. And what company shall we have there 1 

Chr. There we shall be with seraphim and cherubim, 
creatures that will dazzle your eyes to look on them, 
(Isa. vi, 2 ; 1 Thess. iv, 16 17.) There also you shall 
meet with thousands and ten thousands that have gone 
before us to that place ; none of them are hurtful, but 
loving and holy ; every one walking in the sight of God, 

especially of a mere selfish gratitude to a supposed benefactor for imagi- 
nary benefits, which is considered as a very high attainment : till the 
event proves them to be like the Israelites at the Red Sea, who " be- 
lieved the Lord's words, and sang his praise ; but soon forgat his works, 
aod waited not for his counsel," (Psalm cvi, 12—24.) 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 29 

and standing in his presence with acceptance for ever. 
In a word, there we shall see the elders with their 
golden crowns, (Rev. iv, 4;) there we shall see holy 
virgins with their golden harps, (Rev. xiv, 1 — 5 ;) there 
we shall see men that by the world were cut in pieces, 
burnt in flames, eaten of beasts, drowned in the seas, 
for the love that they bare to the Lord of the place ; 
all well, and clothed with immortality as with a gar- 
ment, (John xii, 25 ; 2 Cor. v, 2 — 4.) 

Pli. The hearing of this is enough to ravish one's 
heart ; but are these things to be enjoyed ? How shall 
we get to be sharers thereof? 

Chr. The Lord the governor of the country hath re- 
corded that in this book ; the substance of which is, if 
we be truly willing to have it he will bestow it upon 
us freely, (Isa. Iv, 1 — 3 ; John vi, 37 j vii, 37 ; Rev. 
xxi, 6 ; xxii, 17.) 

Pli. Well, my good companion, glad am I to hear of 
these things ; come on, let us mend our pace. 

Chr. 1 cannot go so fast as I would, by reason of 
this burthen that is on my back. 

Now I saw in my dream, that just as they had ended 
this talk, they drew nigh to a very miry slough * that 

* " Miry slough"— The slough of Despond represents those dis- 
couraging fears which often harrass new converts. It is distinguished 
from the alarms which induced Christian to leave the city, and " flee 
from the wrath to come :" for the anxious apprehensions of one who 
is diligently seeking salvation are very different from those which 
excited him to inquire after it. The latter are reasonable and useful, 
and arise from faith in God's word : but the former are groundless, 
they result from remaining ignorance, inattention, and unbelief, and 
greatly retard the pilgrim in his progress. They should also be care- 
fully distinguished from those doubts land discouragements, which 
assault the established Christian ; for these are generally the conse- 
quence of negligence, or yielding to temptation ; whereas new con- 
verts fall into their despondings, when most diligent according to the 
light they have received : and, if some conscientious persons seem to 
meet with this slough in every part of their pilgrimage, it arises from 
an immature judgment, erroneous sentiments, or peculiar temptations. 
When the diligent student of the Scriptures obtains such an acquaint- 
ance with the perfect holiness of God, the spirituality of his law, the 
inexpressible evil of sin, and his own obligations and transgressions, 
as greatly exceeds the measure in which he discerns the free and full 
salvation of the Gospel, his humiliation will verge nearer and nearer 
to despondency. This, however, is not essential to repentance, but 
arises from misapprehension ; though few in proportion wholly escape 
it. The mire of the slough represents that idea which desponding per- 
sons entertain of themselves and their situation, as altogether vile and 
loathsome ; and their confessions and self-abasing complaints, which 
render them contemptible in the opinion of others. As every attempt 



30 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

was in the midst of the plain, and they, being heedless, 
did both fall suddenly into the bog. The name of the 
slough was Despond. Here therefore they wallowed 
for a time, being grievously bedaubed with dirt ; and 
Christian, because of the burthen that was on his back, 
began to sink in the mire. 

Then said Pliable, Ah ! neighbour Christian, where 
are you now 1 

Truly, said Christian, I do not know. 

At that Pliable began to be offended, and angrily said 
to his fellow, Is this the happiness you have told me 
all this while of? If we have such ill speed at our first 
setting out, what may we expect betwixt this and our 
journey's end 1 May I get out again with my life, you 
shall possess the brave country alone for me. And 
with that he gave a desperate struggle or two, and got 
out of the mire on that side of the slough which was 
next his own house ; so away he went, and Christian 
saw him no more. 

Wherefore * Christian was left to tumble in the 

to rescue themselves discovers to them more of the latent evil of their 
hearts, they seem te grow worse and worse ; and, for want of a clear 
understanding of the Gospel, they have no firm ground to tread on, 
and know neither where they are, or what they must do. But how 
could Pliable fall into this slough, seeing he had no such views of God 
or his law. of himself, or of sin, as this condition seems to pre-suppose ? 
To this it may be answered, that men can hardly associate with reli- 
gious persons, and hear their discourse, confessions, and complaints, 
or become acquainted with any part of Scripture, without making 
some alarming and mortifying discoveries concerning themselves. 
These transient convictions taking place when they fancied they were 
about to become very good, and succeeding to great self-complacency, 
constitute a grievous disappointment ; and they ascribe their uneasi- 
ness to the new doctrine they have heard. But, though Pliable fell 
into the slough, Christian, " by reason of his burthen" sank the deep- 
est ; for the true believer's humiliation for sin tends greatly to increase 
his fear of wrath. Superficial professors, expecting the promised 
happiness without trouble or suffering, are often very angry at those 
who were the means of inducing them to think of religion ; as if they 
had deceived them : and, being destitute of true faith, their only object 
is, at any rate to get rid of their uneasiness. This is a species of 
Btony-ground hearers abounding in every part of the church, who are 
offended and fall away, by means of a little inviard disquietude, before 
any outward tribulation arises because of the word. 

* "Wherefore" — Christian dreaded the doom of his city more than 
the slough. Many persons, under deep distress of conscience, are 
afraid of relief, lest it should prove delusive. Deliverance from wrath 
and the blessings of salvation appear to them so valuable, that all else 
is comparatively trivial : desponding fears may connect with their 
religious diligence ; but despair would be the consequence of a return 
to their former course of sin: if they perish, therefore, it shall be 
whilst earnestly struggling, under deep discouragement, after that 



WITH SCOTTS NOTES. SI 

slough of Despond alone ; but still he endeavoured to 
struggle to that side of the slough that was farthest 
from his own house, and next to the wicket-gate : the 
which he did, but could not get out because of the bur- 
then that was upon his back. But I beheld in my 
dream, that a man came to him, whose name was Help, 
and asked him what he did there. 

Sir, said Christian, I was bid to go this way by a man, 
called Evangelist, who directed me also to yonder 
gate, that I might escape the wrath to come. And as 
I was going thither, I fell in here. 

Help. But why did you not look for the steps ? 

Chr. Fear followed me so hard that I fied the next 
way, and fell in. 

Help. Then said he, Give me thy hand; so he gave 
him his hand, and he drew him out and set him upon 
sound ground, and bid him go on his way, (Psal. xl, 2.) 

Then I stepped* to him that plucked him out, and 
said, Sir, wherefore, since over this place is the way 
from the city of Destruction to yonder gate, is it that 
this plat is not mended, that poor travellers might go 
thither with more security? And he said unto me, 
This miry slough is such a place as cannot be mended: 
it is the descent whither the scum and filth that at- 
tends conviction for sin doth continually run, and 
therefore it was called the slough of Despond : for 
still, as the sinner is awakened about his lost condi- 
tion, there arise in Ins soul many fears and doubts and 
discouraging apprehensions, which all of them get 
together, and settle in this place. And this is the rea- 
son of the badness of this ground. 

salvation, for which their souls even faint within them. Their own 
efforts, indeed, fail to extricate them : but in due time the Lord will 
send them assistance. This is described by the allegorical person 
named Help, who may represent the instruments by which they receive 
encouragement ; a service in which it is a privilege to be employed : — 
Fear is also personified : in the midsi of the new convert's discourse 
on the joys of heaven, fears of wrath often cast him into despondency, 
while he so thinks of the terrors of the Lord, as to overlook his pre- 
cious promises- 

* " Then I stepped" — This account of the slough, which our autho? 
in his vision received from Help, coincides with the preceding expla- 
nation. Increasing knowledge produces deeper self-abasement : hence 
discouraging fears arise in men's minds lest they should at last perish ; 
and objections against themselves continually accumulate, till they 
fall into habitual despondency, unless they constantly attend to iha 



S3 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

It is not the pleasure of the king that this place 
should remain so bad, (Isa. xxxv, 3, 4;) his labourers 
also have, by the direction of his majesty's surveyors, 
been for above this sixteen hundred years employed 
about this patch of ground, if perhaps it might have 
been mended : yea, and to my knowledge, said he, here 
have been swallowed up at least twenty thousand 
cart loads ; yea, millions of wholesome instructions, 
that have at all seasons been brought from all places 
of the king's dominions (and they that can tell, say 
they are the best materials to make good the ground 
of the place,) if so be it might have been mended : but 
it is the slough of Despond still, and so will be when 
they have done what they can. 

True, there are, by the direction of the law-giver, 
certain good and substantial steps placed even through 
the very midst of the slough ; but at such times as this 
place does much spew out its filth, as it doth against 
change of weather, these steps are hardly seen ; or if 
they be, men through the dizziness of their heads step 
beside ; and then they are bemired to purpose, notwith- 
standing the steps be there : but the ground is good 
when they are once got in at the gate, (1 Sam. xii, 22.) 

Now I saw* in my dream, that by this time Pliable 
was got home to his house. So his neighbours came 

encouragements of the Scripture, or, in the apostle's language, have 
their "feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace." Aa 
this state of mind is distressing and enfeebling in itself, and often fur- 
nishes enemies with a plausible objection to religion, the servants of 
God have always attempted to preserve humble inquirers from it, by 
■various scriptural instructions and consolatory topics : yet their suc- 
cess is not adequate to their wishes; for the Lord is pleased to permit 
numbers to be thus discouraged, in order to detect the false professor, 
and to render the upright more watchful and humble. Our author, in 
a marginal note, explains the steps to mean, " the promises of forgive- 
ness and acceptance to life by faith in Christ;" which include the 
general invitations, and the various encouragements given in Scripture 
to all who seek the salvation of the Lord, and diligently use the 
appointed means. It was evidently his opinion, that the path from 
destruction to life lies by this slough ; and that none are indeed in the 
narrow way, who have neither struggled through it, nor gone over it 
by means of the steps. The " change of weather" seems to denote 
those seasons when peculiar temptations, exciting sinful passions, 
confuse the minds of new converts ; and so, losing sight of the pro- 
mises, they sink into despondency during humiliating experiences : but 
faith in Christ, and in the mercy of God through him, sets the pil- 
grim's feet on good ground. 

• " Now I saw"— -They, who affect to despise real Christians, often 
both express and feel great contempt for those that cast off their pro- 
fession ; such men are unable, for a time, to resume their wonted 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 33 

to visit him ; and some of them called him wise man 
for coming back ; and some called him fool for hazard- 
ing himself with Christian : others again did mock at 
his cowardliness, saying, " Surely, since you began to 
venture, I would not have been so base to have given 
out for a few difficulties :" so Pliable sat sneaking 
among them. But at last he got more confidence, and 
then they all turned their tales, and began to deride 
poor Christian behind his back. And thus much con- 
cerning Pliable. 

Now as Christian was walking solitarily by himself, 
he spied one afar off, crossing over the field to meet 
him, and their hap was to meet just as they were 
crossing the way of each other. The gentleman's 
name that met him, was Mr. Worldly- Wiseman ; * he 
dwelt in the town of Carnal-policy, a very great town, 
and also hard by from whence Christian came. This 
man then meeting with Christian, and having some 
inkling of him (for Christian's setting forth from the 
city of Destruction was much noised abroad, not only 
in the town where he dwelt, but also it began to be 
the town talk in some 'other places,) Mr. Worldly- 
Wiseman, therefore, having some guess of him by 
beholding his laborious going, by observing his sighs 
and groans, and the like, began thus to enter into some 
talk with Christian. 

confidence among their former companions; and this excites them 
to pay court to them by reviling and deriding those whom they have 
forsaken. 

* "Worldly- Wiseman" — The wise men of this world carefully 
notice those who begin to turn their thoughts to religion, and attempt 
to counteract their convictions, before the case becomes desperate: 
from their desponding fears they take occasion to insinuate that they 
are deluded or disordered in their minds ; that they make too much 
ado about religion; and that a decent regard to it (which is all that 
is requisite) consists with the enjoyment of this life, and even conduces 
to secular advantage. Worldly- Wiseman, therefore, is a person of 
consequence, whose Superiority gives him influence over poor pilgrims: 
he is a reputable and successful man ; prudent, sagacious, and ac- 
quainted with mankind ; moral, and religious in his way, and qualified 
to give the very best counsel to those who wish to serve both God and 
Mammon : but he is decided in his judgment against all kinds and 
degrees of religion which interfere with a man's worldly interest, dis- 
quiet his mind, or spoil his relish for outward enjoyments. He resides 
at Carnal-policy, a great town near the city of Destruction : for worldly 
prudence, modelling a man's religion, is as ruinous as open vice and 
impiety ; though it be very prevalent among decent and virtuous peo- 
ple- Such men attend to the reports that are circulated about the 
conversion of their neighbours, and often watch their opportunity of 
entering into discourse with them. 



34 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

World. How now.* good fellow, whither away after 
this burthened manner'? 

Chr. A burthened manner indeed, as ever I think 
poor creature had! And whereas you asked me, 
whither away, I tell you, Sir, I am going to )-onder 
wicket-gate before me ; for there, as I am informed, I 
shall be put in a way to be rid of my heavy burthen. 

World. Hast thou a wife and children? 

Chr. Yes ; but I am so laden with this burthen that 
I cannot take that pleasure in them as formerly ; me- 
thinks I am as if I had none, (1 Cor. vii, 29.) 

World. Wilt thou hearken unto me if I give thee 
eounsel ? 

Chr. If it be good I will; for I stand in need of good 
counsel. 



* " How now"— There is great beauty in this dialogue, arising from 
the exact regard to character preserved throughout. Indeed this 
forms one of our author's peculiar excellencies ; as it is a very diffi- 
cult attainment, and always manifests a superiority of genius. The 
self-satisfaction of W oridly -Wiseman, his contempt ot Christian's 
capacity, sentiments, and pursuits ; his affected sneering compassion, 
and his censure of Evangelist's advice ; his representation of the dan- 
gers and hardship of the way, and of " the desperate ventures" of 
religious people " to obtain they know not what ;" and his confident 
assumption, that Christian's concern arose from weakness of intellect. 
" meddling with things too high" for him, barkening to bad counsel 
(that is, reading the word of God, and attending to the preaching of 
the Gospel, 1 and from distraction, as the natural consequence, are 
most admirably characteristic. His arguments also are very specious, 
though wholly deduced from worldly considerations. He does not 
say, that Evangelist bad not pointed out the way of salvation, or that 
wicked men are not in danger of future misery ; but he urges, that so 
much concern about sin and the eternal world takes men off from a 
proper regard to their secular interests, to the injury of their families ; 
that it prevents their enjoying comfort in domestic life, or in other 
providential blessings ; that it leads them into perilous and distressing 
situations, of which their first terrors and despondings are only an 
earnest ; that a troubled conscience may be quieted in a more expedi- 
tious and easy manner : and that they may obtain credit, comfort, and 
manifold advantages, by following prudent counsel. On the other 
hand, Christian not only speaks according to his name, but consist- 
ently with the character of a young convert. He makes no secret of 
his disquietude and terrors, and declares, without reserve, the method 
in which he sought relief. He owns, that he had lost his relish for 
every earthly comfort, and he desires to receive good counsel : but 
while he is prepared to withstand all persuasions to return home, he is 
not upon his guard against the insidious proposal of his carnal coun- 
eellor. He fears the wrath to come more than all the dreadful tilings 
which had been mentioned : but his earnestness to get present relief 
exposes him to the danger of seeking it in an unwarranted way. He 
has obtained from the Scriptures a conviction of his guilt and danger ; 
but, not having also learned the instructions of life, he does not discern 
the fatal tendency of the plausible advice given him by so reputable a 
person- Every oue, who has been in the way of making observations 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 35 

World. I would advise thee, then, that thou with all 
speed get thyself rid of thy burthen; for thou wilt 
never be settled in thy mind till then, nor canst thou 
enjoy the benefits of the blessings which God hath 
bestowed upon thee till then. 

Chr. That is that which I seek for, even to be rid of 
this heavy burthen; but get it off myself I cannot : nor 
is there any man in our country that can take it off my 
shoulders : therefore am I going this way, as I told 
you, that I may be rid of my burthen. 

World. Who bid you go this way to be rid of your 
burthen ? 

Chr. A man that appeared to me to be a very great 
and honourable person : his name, as I remember, is 
Evangelist. 

World. Beshrew him for his counsel; there is not a 
more dangerous and troublesome way in the world 
than is that unto which he hath directed thee; and 
that thou shaft find if thou wilt be ruled by his counseL 
Thou hast met with something, as I perceive, already; 
for I see the dirt of the slough of Despond is upon 
thee ; but that slough is the beginning of the sorrows 
that do attend those that go on in that way. Hear me, 
I am older than thou ; thou art like to meet with, on 
the way which thou goest, wearisomeness, painful- 
ness, hunger, perils, nakedness, sword, lions, dragons, 
darkness, and in a word, death, and what not? These 
tilings are certainly true, having been confirmed by 
many testimonies. And why should a man so care- 
lessly cast away himself by giving heed to a stranger? 

Chr. Why, Sir, this burthen upon my back is more 
terrible to me than are all these things which you 
have mentioned; nay, methinks I care not what I 
meet with in my way, if so be I can also meet with 
deliverance from my burthen. 

World. How earnest thou by the burthen at first ? 

Chr. By reading this book in my hand. 

World. I thought so ; and it has happened unto thee 
as to other weak men, who, meddling with things too 
high for them, do suddenly fall into thy distractions ; 

on these matters must perceive how exactly this suits the case- of nunv- 
fcsxs, when first brought to mind the one thing needful. 



36 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

which distractions do not only unman men (as thine I 
perceive have done thee,) but they run them upon 
desperate ventures to obtain they know not what. 

Chr. I know what I would obtain ; it is ease from my 
heavy burthen. 

World. But why wilt thou seek for ease this way, 
seeing so many dangers attend it ? Especially since, 
hadst thou but patience to hear me, I could direct 
thee to the obtaining of what thou desirest, without 
the dangers that thou in this way wilt run thyself into. 
Yea, and the remedy is at hand. Besides, I will add, 
that, instead of these dangers, thou shalt meet with 
much safety, friendship, and content. 

Chr. Sir, I pray open this secret to me. 

World. Why in yonder village (the village is named 
Morality *) there dwells a gentleman, whose name is 
Legality, a very judicious man, and a man of very 
good name, that has skill to help men off with such 

* " Morality"— The village Morality, is the emblem of that large 
company, who. in nations favouied with revelation, abstain from scan- 
dalous vices, and practise reputable duties, without any true fear or 
love of God, or regard to his authority or glory. This, connected with 
a system of notions, and a stint of external worship, is substituted in 
the place of Christianity : but it is faulty in its principle, measure, and 
object ; it results wholly from self-love ; is restricted to the outward 
observance of some precepts selected from the Scriptures ; and aims 
principally at the acquisition of reputation, distinction, or temporal 
advantages, -with no more than a subordinate respect even to the inte- 
rests of eternity : it is destitute of humility, delight, impartiality, and 
universality in obedience ; it leaves the heart in the possession ot some 
worldly idol, and never advances a man to the rank of a spiritual 
worshipper, or renders him meet for the peculiar pleasures of heaven. 
Yet this mutilated kind of religion draws multitudes off from attend- 
ing either to the holy requirements of the law, or to the humbling 
doctrines of the Gospel. The most noted inhabitant . of this village 
does not derive his name, Legality, from making the law of God the 
rule of his conduct (for " by the law is the knowledge of sin," which 
tends to increase the convinced sinner's distress ;) but from his teach- 
ing men to depend on a defective obedience to a small part of the law. 
explained and lowered, according to the method of the scribes and 
Pharisees. Such teachers, however, are admired by the wise men of 
this world, and are deemed very skilful in relieving troubled conscien- 
ces, and recovering men from religious distractions. His son Civility 
is the emblem of those who perBuade themselves and others that a 
decent, benevolent, and obliging behaviour, will secure men from all 
future punishment, and ensure an inheritance in heaven, if indeed 
there be any such place ! Such counsellors can ease the consciences 
of ignorant persons, when superficially alarmed, almost as well aa 
those who superadd a form of godliness, a few doctrinal opinions, and 
a regard to some precepts of the Gospel. Both are nigh at hand in 
every place ; and the wise men of this world are ever ready to direct 
convinced sinners to seek relief from them : they allow, that it is better 
for those who have been immoral and profligate to reform their lives * 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 37 

tmrthens as thine is from their shoulders ; yea, to my 
Knowledge, he hath done a great deal of good this 
way ; ay, and besides, he hath skill to cure those that 
are somewhat crazed in their wits with their burthens. 
To him, as I said, thou mayest go and be helped pre- 
sently. His house is not quite a mile from this place ; 
and if he should not be at home himself, he hath a 
pretty young man to his son, whose name is Civility, 
that can do it (to speak on) as well as the old gentle- 
man himself. There, I say, thou mayest be eased of 
thy burthen : and if thou art not minded to go back to 
thy former habitation, as indeed I would not wish thee, 
thou mayest send for thy wife and children to thee to 
this village ; where there are houses now stand empty, 
one of which thou mayest have at reasonable rates: 
provision is there also cheap and good ; and that which 
will make thy life more happy is, to be sure, there thou 
shalt live by honest neighbours in credit and good 
fashion. 

Now was Christian somewhat at a stand ; but pre- 
sently he concluded, If this be true, which this gentle- 
man hath said, my wisest course is to take his advice; 
and w r ith that he thus farther spake. 

Clir. Sir, which is my way to this honest man's 
house 1 

World. Do you see yonder high hill?* 

Chr. Yes, very well. 

for this will meet with the approbation of their relatives, and condnee 
to their advantage, while the strait gate and narrow way would prove 
their ruin. Most pilgrims are assailed by such counsellors : and many 
are not able to detect the fallacy of their reasonings till their own folly 
corrects them. 

* " High hill" — Christian must go past mount Sinai to the village. Mo- 
rality ; not that such men, as depend on their own reformation and good 
works, pay a due regard to die holy law which was delivered from that 
mountain (for " they are alive without the law:") but because they sub- 
stitute their own scanty obedience in the place of Christ's righteousness 
and atonement. They, who are not duly humbled and enlightened, pep- 
ceiving little danger, pass on quietly and securely: but the sinner, who is 
deeply convinced of 'his guilt, finds every attempt "to establish his own 
righteousness" entirely abortive : the more narrowly he compares his con- 
duct and character with the holy law, the greater is his alarm ; and he 
trembles lest its curses should immediately fall upon him. widi vengeance 
more tremendous than die most awful thunder. Then the counsels of 
worldly wisdom appear in their true light, and the sinner is prepared to 
welcome die Gospel of free salvation : but if the minister, whose instrne- 
tions he had forsaken, meet him, his terror will unite with conscious shame-; 
and he will even be tempted to shun his faithful friend, through fear of his 
merited reproofs. 



Sa THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

World. By that hill you must go, and the first house 4 
you come at is Ms. 

So Christian turned out of his way to go to Mr. 
Legality's house for help. But behold, when he was 
got now hard by the hill, it seemed so high, and also 
that side of it that was next the way side did hang so 
much over, that Christian was afraid to venture far- 
ther, lest the lull should fall on his head ; wherefore, 
there he stood still, and wotted not what to do. Also 
his burthen now seemed heavier to him than while he 
was in his way. There came also flashes of fire out 
of the hill, that made Christian afraid that he should 
be burned. (Exod. xix, 16 — 18; Heb. xii, 21;) here, 
therefore, he sweat and did quake for fear. And now 
he began to be sorry that he had taken Mr. Worldly- 
Wiseman's counsel. And with that he saw Evangelist, 
coming to meet him; at the sight also of whom he 
began to blush for shame. So Evangelist drew nearer 
and nearer, and coming up to him, he looked upon him. 
with a severe and dreadful countenance, and thus 
began to reason with Christian: 

What dost thou here, Christian? said he. At which 
words Christian knew not what to answer : wherefore,, 
at present, he stood speechless before him. Then said 
Evangelist farther, Ait thou not the man that I found 
crying without the walls of the city of Destruction ? 

Chr. Yes, dear Sir, I am the man. 

Evan. Did not I direct thee the way to the little 
wicket-gate ? 

Yes, dear Sir, said Christian. 

Evan. How is it then that thou art so quickly turned 
aside ? for thou art now out of the way. 

Chr. I met with a gentleman, so soon as I had got 
over the slough of Despond, who persuaded me that I 
might, in the village before me, find a man that could 
take off my burthen. 

Evan. What was he 1 

Chr. He looked like a gentleman, and talked; much 
to me, and got me at last to yield; so I came hither; 
Dut when I beheld this hill, and how it hangs over the' 
way, I suddenly made a stand, lest it should fall os: 
my head. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 39 

Evan. What said that gentleman to you? 

Chr. Why he asked me whither I was going ; and I 
told him. 

Evan. And what said he then 1 

Chr. He asked me if I had a family ; and I told him. 
But, said I, I am so loaded with the burthen that is on 
my back, that I cannot take pleasure in them as for- 
merly. 

Evan. And what said he then ? 

Chr. He bid me with speed get rid of my burthen ; 
and I told him it was ease that I sought. And, said I, 
I am therefore going to yonder gate to receive farther 
directions how I might get to the place of deliverance. 
So he said that he would show me a better way, and 
short, not so attended with difficulties as the way, Sir, 
that you set me in ; which way, said he, will direct you 
to a gentleman's house that has skill to take off these 
burthens : so I believed him, and turned out of that 
way into this, if haply I might be soon eased of my bur- 
then. But when I came to this place, and beheld things 
as they are, I stopped for fear, as I said, of danger ; but 
now know not what to do. 

Then, said Evangelist, stand still* a little, that I 

* " Stand still" — Our author judged it right, in dealing with persona 
under great terror of conscience, to aim rather at preparing them for solid 
peace than hastily to give them comfort. Men may be greatly dismayed, 
and in some degree truly humbled, yet not be truly sensible of the aggra- 
vations and degree of dieir guilt. In this case, farther instructions as to 
the nature and heinousness of their offences, are needful to excite tliem to 
proper diligence and self-denial, and to prepare them for solid peace and 
comfort. Whereas a well-meant, compassionate, but injudicious method 
of proposing consolatory topics indiscriminately to all under trouble of 
conscience, hills many into a fatal sleep : and gives others a transient peace 
■which soon terminates in deep despondency : like a wound, hastily skinned 
over by an ignorant practitioner, instead of being soundly cured by the 

{)atient attention of a skilful surgeon. The communication of more know- 
edge may, indeed, augment a man's terror and distress ; but it will pro- 
duce deeper humiliation, and thus effectually warn him against carnal 
counsellors and legal dependences. Whatever may be generally thought 
of "turning aside" from the Gospel, it is a direct refusal to hearken to 
Christ ; and they who do so run into misery, and leave the way of peace, 
to the hazard of their souls ; even though moral decency and formal piety 
be the result, (Gal. v, 4.) Such denunciations are despised by the stout- 
hearted, but the contrite in spirit, when conscious of this guilt, are cast by 
them into the deepest distress ; so that they would fall into despair did not 
the ministers of Christ encourage them by evangelical topics. The follow- 
ing lines are here inserted, as before, in die old editions : — 
" When Christians unto carnal men give ear, 
Out of their way they go, and pay for't dear; 
For Master Worldly-Wiseman can but show" 
A saint the way to bondage and to woe." 



40 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 

may show thee the words of God. So he stood trem- 
bling-. Then said Evangelist, " See that ye. refuse not 
him that speaketh : for if they escaped not who refused 
him that spake on earth, much more shall not we 
escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from 
heaven," (Heb. xii, 25.) He said, moreover, " Now the 
just shall live by faith ; but if any man draw back, my 
-soul shall have no pleasure in him," (Heb. x, 38.) He 
also did thus apply them : Thou art the man that art 
running into this misery ; thou hast begun to reject the 
counsel of the Most High, and to draw back thy foot 
from the way of peace, even almost to the hazarding 
of thy perdition. 

Then Christian fell down at his feet as dead, crying, 
' : Woe is me, for I am undone !" At the sight of which 
Evangelist caught him by the right hand, saying, " All 
maimer of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto 
men:" "be not faithless but believing." Then did 
Christian again a little revive, and stood up trembling, 
as at first, before Evangelist- 
Then Evangelist proceeded, saying, Give more ear- 
nest heed to the things that I shall tell thee of. I will 
now show thee who it was that deluded thee, and who 
it Avas also to whom he sent thee. The man that met 
thee is one "Worldly- Wiseman, and rightly is he so 
called ; -partly because he savoureth only the doctrine 
of tliis world, (1 John iv, 5,) therefore he always goes to 
the town of Morality to church,* and partly because he 
loveth that doctrine best, for it saveth him best from 
the cross, (Gal. vi, 12 ;) and because he is of this carnal 
temper, therefore he seeketh to pervert my ways, 
though right. Now there are three things in this man's 
counsel that thou must utterly abhor : his turning thee 
out of the way : his labouring to render the cross odi- 
ous to thee ; and his setting thy feet in that way that 
leadeth unto the ministration of death. 

* " To church"— Worldly- Wiseman goes to church at the town of 
Morality: for such rneu support their confidence and reputation tor reli- 
gion by attending on diose preachers, who substitute a proud scanty mora- 
lity in place of the Gospel. This coincides with their secular views, dispo- 
sitions, and interests ; they avoid the cross, verily thinking they have found 
out the secret of reconciling the friendship of die world with the favour of 
God ; and then Uiey set up for teachers oi die same convenient system to 
...-ighbours! 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 41 

First, thou must abhor his turning thee out of the 
way, yea, and thine own consenting thereto ; because 
this is to reject the counsel of God for the sake of the 
counsel of a worldly-wise man. The Lord says, " Strive 
to enter in at the strait gate," the gate to which I send 
thee, " for strait is the gate that leadeth unto life, and 
few there be that find it," (Luke xiii. 24; Matt. vii. 13, 
14.) From this little wicket-gate, and from the way 
thereto, hath this wicked man turned thee, to the 
bringing of thee almost to destruction. Hate, there- 
fore, his turning thee out of the way, and abhor thyself 
for hearkening to him. 

Secondly, thou must abhor his labouring to render 
the cross odious unto thee ; for thou art to " prefer it 
before the treasures in Egypt," (Heb. xi, 25,26.) Be- 
sides, the King of Glory hath told thee, that " he that 
will save his life shall lose it ;" and, " he that comes 
after me, and hates not his father, and mother, and 
wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and 
his own life also, cannot be my disciple," (Matt, x, 37 — 
39 ;) Mark viii, 34, 35 ; Luke xiv, 26, 27 ; John xii, 25.) 
I say, therefore, for a man to labour to persuade thee 
that that shall be thy death, without which the truth 
hath said thou canst not have eternal life— this doc- 
trine thou must abhor. 

Thirdly, thou must hate his setting of thy feet in the 
way that leadeth to the ministration of death. And for 
this thou must consider to whom he sent thee, and also, 
how unable that person was to deliver thee from thy 
burthen. 

He to whom * thou wast sent for ease, being by name 
Legality, is " the son of the bond-woman, which now 



* " He to whom"— When Christ had finished his work on earth, the 
Sinai covenant with Israel was abrogated. The Jews, therefore, by cleaving 
to the Mosaic law as a complex covenant of works, were left in bondage 
axid under condemnation ; and all professed Christians, who thus depend 
on notion?, sacraments, religious duties, and morality, to the neglect of 
Christ and the new covenant in his blood, are entangled in the same fatal 
error. Legality can only lead a man to a false peace : it can never deliver 
a sinner from guilt^or quiet the conscience of one who is really humbled 
and enlightened. The Scriptures adduced by Evangelist are so pertinent 
and conclusive against the tashionable religion, which has at present almost 
superseded the Gospel, that they can never be fairly answered : nay, the 
more any man cousiders them as the testimony of God, the greater must be 
his alarm (even as if he heard the voice from mount Sinai out of the midst 



42 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

is, and is in bondage with her children," (Gal. iv, 21 — 
27 ;) and is, in a mystery, this mount Sinai, which thou 
hast feared will fall on thy head. Now if she with her 
children are in bondage, how canst thou expect by 
them to be made free? This Legality, therefore, is 
not able to set thee free from thy burthen. No man 
was as yet ever rid of his burthen by him ; no, nor 
ever is like to be. " Ye cannot be justified by the 
works of the law ; for by the deeds of the law no man 
living" can be rid of his burthen: therefore, Mr. 
Worldly- Wiseman is an alien, and Mr. Legality a cheat ; 
and for his son Civility, notwithstanding his simpering 
looks, he is but a hypocrite, and cannot help thee. Be- 
lieve me, there is nothing in all this noise that thou 
hast heard of these sottish men, but a design to beguile 
thee of thy salvation, by turning thee from the way in 
which I had set thee. After this, Evangelist called 
aloud to the heavens for confirmation of what he had 
said ; and with that, there came words and fire out of 
the mountain under which poor Christian stood, that 
made the hair of his flesh stand up. The words were 
thus pronounced : " As many as are of the works of 
the law are under the curse : for it is written, Cursed 
is every one that continueth not in all things which 
are written in the book of the law to do them," (Gal. 
iii, 10.) 

Now Christian looked for nothing but death, and be- 
gan to cry out lamentably, even cursing the time in 
which he met with Mr. Worldly- Wiseman ; still calling 
himself a thousand fools for hearkening to his counsel. 
He also was greatly ashamed to think that this gen- 
tleman's arguments, flowing only from the flesh, should 
have the prevalency with him as to cause him to for- 
sake the right way. This done, he applied himself 
again to Evangelist, in words and sense as follows : — 

Sir, what think you 1 Is there hope 1 May I now go 
back, and go up to the wicket-gate 1 Shall I not be 
abandoned for this, and sent back from thence ashamed? 

of the fire ;) unless he be conscious of having renounced every other con- 
fidence, to " flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us" in the 
Gospel. Such alarms prepare men to attend to the counsel of those who 
preaeh salvation by faith in Christ alone, provided there may yet be hope j 
of which there is no reason to doubt. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. S3 

I am sorry I have hearkened to this man's counsel ; but 
may my sin be forgiven 1 

Then said Evangelist to him, thy* sin is very great, 
for by it thou hast committed two evils ; thou hast 
forsaken the way that is good, to tread hi forbidden 
paths : yet will the man at the gate receive thee, for 
he has good will for men ; only, said he, take heed 
that thou turn not aside again, "lest thou perish from 
the way when his wrath is kindled but a little," (Psal. 
ii, 12.) Then did Christian address himself to go back ; 
and Evangelist, after he had kissed him, gave him one 
smile, and bid him God speed. So he went on with 
haste, neither spake he to any man by the way; nor 
if any asked him would he vouchsafe them any an- 
swer. He went like one that was all the while tread- 
ing on forbidden ground, and could by no means tliink 
himself safe till again he was got into the way which 
he left to follow Mr. Worldly-Wiseman's counsel. So 
in process of time Christian got up to f the gate. Now 

* " Tby sin"— In attempting to encourage those who despond, we shculd 
by no means persuade them that their sins are few or trivial, or even that 
they judge too hardly of their own conduct ;' nay, we should endeavour to 
convince them, that their guilt is even far greater than diey suppose; 
though not too great to be pardoned by the infinite mercy of God in Christ 
Jesus : for tins tends to take them off more speedily from every vain attempt 
to justify themselves, and renders them more unreserved in relying on Christ 
for acceptance. In the midst of die most affectionate encouragements, the 
faithful minister must also solemnly warn young converts not to turn aside ; 
nor can the humble ever find confidence or comfort, till they are conscious 
of having regained the way diey had forsaken. 

t " Got up to"— The gate, at which Christian desired admission, repre- 
sents Christ himself, as received by the penitent -sinner in all his offices, and 
for all the purposes of saltation, according to the measure of his explicit 
knowledge; by which he actually enters into a state of acceptance with 
God. The Scriptures referred to were spoken by our Lord himself, previ- 
ous to the full revelation of his character and redemption ; and may be 
very properly explained of a man's finally and decidedly renouncing his 
worldly and sinful pursuits, and engaging with diligence and self-denial in 
a life of devotedness to God. ** The broad road leads to destruction ;" the 
gate by which men enter into it is wide ; for we are all " born in sin and 
the children of wrath," and "turn every one to his own way 5 " of folly and 
transgression : but a strait gate opens into " the narrow way that leadeth 
unto life," and at this the penitent finds admission widi difficulty and 
conflict. As it is strait, (or, in die language of the allegory, a wicket, or a 
little gate,) the conveit cannot carry along with him any of his sinful 
practices, ungodly companions, worldly idols, or earnal confidences, when 
he strives to enter in at it ; nor can he effectually contend with those ene- 
mies that obstruct his passage, unless he wrestle continually with God in 
prayer, for his gracious assistance. But, while we advert to these things, 
we must not forget that the sinner returns to God by faith in Christ : genu- 
ine repentance comes from him and leads to him ; and the true believer not 
only trusts in die Lord for salvation, but also seeks his liberty and happi- 
ness in his service. To enter in this manner, by Christ the door, is so con- 




44 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

over the gate there was written, " Knock, and it shall 
be opened unto you," (Matt, vii, 7, 8.) 

He knocked, therefore, more than once or twice, 
saying— 

May I now enter here 1 Will he within 
Open to sorry me, though I have been 
An undeserving rebel ? Then shall I 
Not fail to sing his lasting praise on high. 

At last there came a grave person to the gate, named 
Goodwill,* who asked who was there, and whence he 
came, and what he would have. 

Chr. Here is a poor burthened sinner. I come from 
the city of Destruction, but am going to Mount Zion, 
that I may be delivered from the wrath to come. I 
would, therefore, Sir, since I am informed that by this 
gate is the way thither, know if you are willing to let 
me in. 

I am willing with all my heart, said he. And with 
that he opened the gate. 

trary to man's pride and lusts, to the course of the world, and to the 
temptations of the devil, that striving or wrestling is more necessary in 
this than it can be conceived to be in any other kind of conversion. Vari- 
ous things commonly precede this unreserved acceptance of Christ, in the 
experience of diose who are born of God ; but they are not easily distin- 

§uishable from many temporary convictions, impressions, and starts of 
evotion, which evidentiy vanish and come to nothing. Yet even this Js 
judiciously distinguished by our author from that view of the cross by 
which Christian was delivered from his burthen, for reasons which will 
speedily be stated. The following lines are here inserted, under an en» 
graving :— 

" He that would enter in, must first without 

Stand knocking at the gate, nor need he doubt, 

That is a knocker, but to enter in ; 

For God can love him, and forgive his sin." 
* " Goodwill"— Goodwill seems to be an allegorical person, the emblem 
of the compassionate love of God to sinners, in and through Jesus Christ, 
(Lukeii, 14.) He "came from heaven to do the will of him that sent 
him," and " he will in no wise cast out any that come to him," either 
on account of their former sins, or their present mistakes, inrirmitie 
evil propensities and habits, or peculiar temptations. " He waits 
be gracious," till sinners apply by earnest persevering prayer for ] 
salvation ; and even the preparation of heart winch leads to tins is not 
requisite to induce the Lord to receive them, but to make them willing to 
apply to him. Numbers give themselves no concern about their souls ; 
others, after convictions, turn back with Pliable, or finally cleave to tho 
counsels of worldly wisdom: but all, who come to Christ with a real 
desire of his whole salvation, are cordially welcomed ; over them angels 
rejoice, and in them die Redeemer " sees of the travail of his soul and is 
satisfied." So that inquirers are greatly mistaken when they fear lest 
Christ should reject them ; since they need only dread being tempted to 
reject him, or being partial and hypocritical in their application to him. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 45 

So when * Christian was stepping in the other gave 
him a pull. Then said Christian, What means that ? 
The other told him, " A little distance from this gate 
there is erected a strong castle, of which Beelzebub is 
the captain ; from thence both he and they that are 
with him shoot arrows at those that come up to this 
gate, if haply they may die before they can enter in." 

Then said Christian, I rejoice and tremble. So when 
he was got in, the man of the gate asked him who di- 
rected him thither. 

Chr. Evangelist bid me come hither and knock, as I 
did; and he said that you, Sir, would tell me what I 
must do. 

Good. " An open door is before thee, and no man can 
shut it." 

Chr. Now I begin to reap the benefits of my hazards. 

Good. But how is it that you come alone ? 

Chr. Because none of my neighbours saw their dan- 
ger, as I saw mine. 

Good. Did any of them know of your coming ? 

Chr. Yes ; my wife and children saw me at the first, 
and called after me to turn again ; also some of my 
neighbours stood crying and calling after me to return ; 
but I put my fingers in my ears, and so came on my way. 

Good. But did none of them follow you to persuade 
you to go back ? 

Chr. Yes, both Obstinate and Pliable : but when they 
saw that they could not prevail, Obstinate went rail- 
ing back, but Pliable came with me a little way. 

Good. But why did he not come through ? 

Chr. We indeed came both together until we came 
at the slough of Despond, into the which we also 

* " So when"— As sinners become more decided in applying to Christ, 
and assiduous in the means of grace, Satan, if permitted, will be more 
vehement in his endeavours to discourarge them ; that, if possible, lie may 
induce them to desist, and so to come short of the prize. Indeed, the Lord 
will accomplish the good work which he hath begun by his special grace; 
but probably the powers of darkness cannot exactly distinguish between 
those impressions which are the effects of regeneration, and "such as result 
from the excitement of natural passions. It is, however, certain, that they 
attempt to disturb those who earnestly cry for mercy, by various sugges 
lions, to which they were wholly strangers, while satisfied with a form of 
godliness : and that the Christian's grand conflict to the end of liis course 
consists in surmounting the hindrances and opposition that he experiences 
in keeping near to the throne of grace, by fervent, importunate, and perse- 
vering prayer. 



46 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

suddenly fell. And then was my neighbour Pliable 
discouraged, and would not adventure farther. Where- 
fore, getting out again on that side next to his own 
house, he told me I should possess the brave country 
alone for him : so he went his way, and I came mine : 
he after Obstinate, and I to this gate. 

Then said Goodwill, Alas, poor man ! is the celestial 
glory of so small esteem with him, that he counteth 
it not worth running the hazard of a few difficulties 
to obtain it 1 

Truly, said Christian, I have said the truth of Pli- 
able : and if I should also say all the truth of myself, 
it will appear there is no betterment * betwixt him 
and myself. It is true he went back to his own house, 
out I also turned aside to go into the way of death, 
Deing persuaded thereto by the carnal argument of 
one Mr. Worldly-Wiseman. 

Good. Oh, did he light upon you 1 What, he would 
nave had you have sought for ease at the hands of 
Mr. Legality ! they are both of them very cheats. But 
did you take his counsel ? 

Chr. Yes, as far as I durst. I went to find out Mr. 
Legality, until I thought that the mountain that stands 
by his house would have fallen upon my head ; where- 
fore there I was forced to stop. 

Good. That mountain has been the death of many, 
and will be the death of many more. It is well you 
escaped; being by it not dashed in pieces. 

Chr. Why, truly, I do not know what had become of 
me there, had not Evangelist happily met me again as 
I was musing in the midst of my dumps ; but it was 
God's mercy that he came to me again, for else I had 
never come hither. But now I am come, such an one 
as I am, more lit indeed for death by that mountain 

* "Betterment" — Our author here puts a very emphatical word into 
Christian's mouth (" there is no betterment betwixt him and myself,") 
which later editors have changed for difference. This is far from an im- 
provement, though the word be more classical : for grace had made an 
immense differeiice between Christian and Pliable ; but the former thought 
his conduct equally criminal, and therefore, in respect of their deserv- 
ing?, there was no betterment betwixt diem. There are many altera- 
tions of a similar nature, in which the old copies have been generally 
followed : but it would preclude more useful matter were they constantly 
Dated. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 47 

than thus to stand talking with my Lord. But oh, 
what a favour is this to me, that yet I am admitted 
entrance here ! 

Good. We make no objections against any, notwith- 
standing all that they have done before they come 
hither. " They in no wise are cast out," (John vi, 37 ;) 
and therefore, good Christian, come a little way with 
me, and I will teach thee about the way thou must 
go. Look before thee ; dost thou see this narrow * 
way 1 that is the way thou must go. It was cast up 
by the patriarchs, prophets, Christ and his apostles, 
and it is as straight as a rule can make it : this is the 
way thou must go. 

But, said Christian, are there no turnings nor wind- 
ings, by which a stranger may lose his way 1 ? 

Good. Yes, there are many ways butt down upon 
this, and they are crooked and wide : but thus thou 
must distinguish the right from the wrong, the right 
only being strait and narrow, (Matt, vii, 13, 14.) 

Then I saw in my dream, that Christian asked him t 
farther, if he could not help him off with the burthen 

* " Narrow" — Christian, being admitted at the strait gate, is directed in 
the narrow way. In the broad road every man may choose a path suited 
to his inclinations, shift about to avoid difficulties, or accommodate himself 
to circumstances ; and he will be sure of company agreeable to his taste. 
But Christians must follow one another in the narrow way, along the 
same track, surmounting difficulties, facing enemies, and bearing hard- 
ships, without any room to evade them: nor is any indulgence given to 
different tastes, habits, or propensities. It is, therefore, a straitened, or, a9 
6ome render the word, an afflicted way ; being indeed an habitual course 
of repentance, faith, love, self-denial, patience, and mortification to sin and 
Hie world, according to the rule of the Holy Scriptures. Christ himself 
is the way, by which we come to the Father and walk with him ; but true 
faith works by love, and t; sets us in the way of his steps," (Psalm lxxxv, 
13.) This path is also straight, as opposed to the crooked ways of wicked 
men, (Psalm cxxv, 5 ;) for it consists in a uniform regard to piety, integrity, 
sincerity, and kindness ; at a distance from all the hypocrisies, frauds, and 
artifices, by whicli ungodly men wind about to avoid detection, keep up 
their credit, deceive others, or impose on themselves. The question pro- 
posed by Christian implies, that believers are more afraid ot missing the 
way than encountering hardships in it : and Goodwill's answer, that many 
ways &uttet£ down on it, or opened into it, in various directions, shews, that 
the careless and self-willed are extremely liable to be deceived : but it fol- 
lows, that all these ways are crooked • and wide ; they turn aside from the 
direct line of living faith and holy obedience, and are more soothing, 
indulgent, and pleasing to corrupt nature, than tire path of life ; whicli 
lies straight forward, and is every where contrary to the bias of the carnal 
mind. 

t "Asked him"— A general reliance on the mercy of Gocl by faith in 
Christ, accompanied with a consciousness of sincerity in applying for this 
salvation gives some encouragement to the convinced sinner's hope ; and 
transient joys are often vouchsafed in a large proportion to unestablisheol 



48 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

that was upon his back : for as yet he had not got rid 
thereof, nor could he by any means get it off without 
help. 

He told him, As to thy burthen, be content to bear it 
until thou comest to the place of deliverance ; for there 
it will fall from thy back of itself. 

Then Christian began to gird up his loins, and to 
address himself to his journey. So the other told 
him, that by that he was gone some distance from the 
gate he would come at the house of* the Interpreter, 
at whose door he should knock, and he would show 
him excellent things. Then Christian took his leave 
of his friend, and he again bid him God speed. 

Then he went on till he came to the house of the 
Interpreter, where he knocked over and over : at last 
one came to the door, and asked who was there ? 

Chr. Sir, here is a traveller, who was bid by an 
acquaintance of the good man of this house to call 
here for my profit. I would therefore speak with the 
master of the house. So he called for the master of 
the house, who after a little time came to Christian, 
and asked him what he would have 1 

Sir, said Christian, I am a man that am come from 



believers : but more distinct views of the glory of the Gospel are necessary 
to abiding peace. The young convert's consolations resemble die breaking 
forth of the sun in a cloudy and tempestuous day ; those of the experienced 
Christian, his more constant light in settled weather, which is not long 
together interrupted, though it be sometimes dimmed by intervening clouds. 
Believers should not, therefore, rest in such transient glimpses, but press 
forward to more abiding peace and joy : and, as Christ does Dot in general 
bestow this blessing on the unestablished, the endeavours of ministers to do 
bo must be vain. 

* " House of" — We continually meet with fresh proofs of our author's 
exact acquaintance with the Scripture, his sound judgment, deep experi- 
ence, and extensive observation. Widi great propriety he places the house 
of die Interpreter beyond the strait gate : for die knowledge of divine things, 
which precedes conversion to God by faith in Christ, is very scanty, com- 
pared with the diligent believer's subsequent attainments. A few leading 
truths deeply impressed on the heart, and producing efficacious fears, hopes, 
desires, and affections, characterize die state of a new-born babe : but reli- 
ance on the mercy of God through Jesus Clirist prepares liim to receive 
farther instruction: and, "having tasted that die Lord is gracious, he 
desires die sincere milk of the word, that he may grow thereby." The 
Interpreter is an emblem of the teaching of die Holy Spirit, according to 
the Scripture, by means of reading, hearing, praying, and meditating, 
accompanied by daily experience and observation. Believers depend on 
this continual teaching, and are not satisfied with human instruction, 
but look to die fountain of wisdom, that they may be delivered from 
prejudice, preserved from error, and enabled to profit by the ministry of 
the word. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 49 

the city of Destruction, and am going- to the mount 
Zion ; and I was told by the man that stands at the 
gate at the head of this way, that if I called here you 
would show me excellent things, such as would be a 
help to me in my journey. 

Then said the * Interpreter, Come in ; I will show 
thee that which will be profitable to thee. So he com- 
manded his man to light a candle, and bid Christian 
follow him : so he had him into a private room, and 
bid Ms man open a door, the which when he had done, 
Christian saw the picture of a very grave person hang 
up against the wall ; and this was the fashion of it : it 
nad eyes lifted up to heaven, the best of books in its 
nand, the law of truth was written upon its lips, the 
world, was behind its back ; it stood as if it pleaded 
with men, and a crown of gold did hang over its head. 

Then said Christian, What meaneth this ? 

Interp. The man, whose picture this is, is one of a 
thousand; he can beget children, (1 Cor. iv, 15,) travail 
in birth with children, (Gal. iv, 19,) and nurse them 
himself when they are born. And whereas thou seest 
him with his eyes lifted up to heaven, the best of 

* "Then said"— The condescending love of the Holy Spirit, in readily 
granting the desires of those who apply for Ms teaching, notwithstanding 
their sins, prejudices, and slowness of heart to understand, can never suffi- 
ciently be admired, (Psalm cxliii, 10. ) He employs men as his instruments, 
who, by explaining the Scriptures, may be said to " light the candle :" but 
he alone efficaciously opens the mind to instruction. " The secret of the 
Lord is with them that fear him," (Psalm xxv, 14. ) The Interpreter leads 
them apart to communicate to them heavenly wisdom, which is hidden 
from the most sagacious of worldly men. The first lesson here inculcated 
relates to the character of the true minister : for nothing can be more 
important to every one who inquires the way to heaven, than to be able to 
distinguish faithful pastors from hirelings, blind guides, and false teachers ; 
who are Satan's principal agents in deceiving mankind, and in preventing 
the stability, consistency, and fruitfuluess of believers. This portrait and 
its key need no explanation : but all who sustain or mean to assume the 
sacred office, should seriously examine it, clause by clause, widi the Scrip- 
tures from which it is deduced ; inquiring impartially how far they resemble 
it, and praying earnestly for more exact conformity ; and everyone should 
be extremely careful not to intrust his soul to the guidance of those who 
are wholly unlike this emblematic representation. For surely a slothful, 
frivolous, dissipated, licentious, ambitious, profane, or contentious man, in 
the garb of a minister, cannot safely be trusted as a guide in the way to 
heaven ! He, who never studies, or studies any thing in preference to the 
Bible, cannot be qualified to " unfold dark things to sinners !" and he, who 
is abundantly more careful about his income, ease, or consequence, than 
about the souls of his flock, cannot be followed without the most evident 
danger and the most inexcusable folly ! For who would employ an igno 
rant, indolent, or fraudulent lawyer, or physician, merely because he hap • 
pened to live in the same parish 7 



50 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

books in his hand, and the law of truth written on his 
lips ; it is to show thee that his work is to know and 
unfold dark things to sinners ; even as also thou seest 
him stand as if he pleaded with men : and whereas 
thou seest the world as cast behind him, and that a 
crown hangs over his head ; that is to show thee that 
slighting and despising the things that are present for 
the love that he hath to his Master's service, he is 
sure in the world that comes next to have glory for 
his reward. Now, said the Interpreter, I have showed 
thee this picture first, because the man, whose picture 
this is, is the only man whom the Lord of the place 
whither thou art going hath authorised to be thy 
guide in all difficult places thou mayest meet with 
in the way : wherefore, take good heed to what I 
have showed thee, and bear well in thy mind what 
thou hast seen; lest in thy journey thou meet with 
some that pretend to lead thee right, but their way 
goes down to death. 
Then he took * him by the hand, and led him into a 

* " He took" — All true believers desire sanctification, of which the 
moral law is the standard ; yet every attempt to produce conformity 
in the heart and life to that standard, by regarding the precepts, apart 
from the truths and promises of Scripture, excites and discovers the 
evils which before lay dormant in the heart ; according to the signi- 
ficant emblem here adduced. Mere moral preaching, indeed, has no 
such effect: because, in the place of the divine law, it substitutes ano- 
ther rule, which is so vague, that self-flattery will enable almost any 
man, who is not scandalously vicious, to deem himself justified accord- 
ing to it ; so that, instead of enmity being excited in the heart, he 
allows the rule by which he is approved ; and loves his idea of God, 
Decause it accords so well with his own character. But when the holy- 
law is brought with energy to the conscience, its strictness, spirituality, 
and severity, awaken the latent enmity of the heart : the absolute self- 
denial it demands, even in the most plausible claims of self-love, its 
express prohibition of the darling sin, with the experienced impracti- 
cability of adequate obedience, and the awful sentence it denounces 
against every transgressor, concur in exciting opposition to it, and 
even to him who gave it. Moreover, the consciousness of a hankering 
after things prohibited, and a conviction of the evil of such concupi- 
scence, induce a man to conclude that he is viler than ever; and, 
indeed, clearer knowledge must aggravate the guilt of every sin. A lit- 
tle discouragement of this kind prevails with numbers to cease from all 
endeavours, at least for a season ; supposing that at present it is impos- 
sible for them to serve God ; but others, being more deeply humbled, 
and taken oft" from all self-confidence, are thus prepared to understaud 
and welcome the free salvation of the Gospel. The law then appears 
disarmed of its curse, as the rule and standard of holiness ; while 
righteousness and strength are sought by faith in Jesus Christ : the 
believer is encouraged by the truths and promises of the Gospel, excited 
by its motives, and inclined by the Holy Spirit, to desire advancing 
sanctification : while by the prevalence of hope and love his inward 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 51 

very large parlour that was fall of dust, because never 
swept ; the which, after he had reviewed a little while, 
the Interpreter called for a man to sweep. Now when 
he began to sweep, the dust began so abundantly to 
fly about, that Christian had almost therewith been 
choked. Then said the Interpreter to a damsel that 
stood by, Bring hither water and sprinkle the room; 
the which when she had done, it was swept and 
cleansed with pleasure. 

Then said Christian, What means this ? 

The Interpreter answered, This parlour is the heart 
of a man that was never sanctified by the sweet 
grace of the Gospel : the dust is his original sin and 
inward corruptions, that have defiled the whole man. 
He that began to sweep at first, is the Law ; but she 
that brought that water and did sprinkle it is the 
Gospel. Now, whereas thou sawest, that, so soon as 
the first began to sweep, the dust did so fly about that 
the room by him could not be cleansed, but that thou 
wast almost choked therewith ; this is to show thee, 
that the law, instead of cleansing the heart, by its 
working, from sin, dpth revive, put strength into, and 
increase it in the soul, even as it doth discover and 
forbid it; for it doth not give power to subdue it, 
(Rom. v, 20; vii, 7—11 ; 1 Cor. xv. 56.) 

Again, as thou sawest the damsel sprinkle the room 
with water, upon which it was cleansed with plea- 
sure ; this is to show thee, that when the Gospel 
comes in the sweet and precious influences thereof 
to the heart, then, I say, even as thou sawest the 
damsel lay the dust by sprinkling the floor with water, 
so is sin vanquished and subdued, and the soul made 
clean through the faith of it, and consequently fit for 
the King of glory to inhabit, (John xiv, 21 — 23 ; xv, 3 ; 
Acts xv, 9; Rom. xvi, 25, 26 ; Eph. v, 26.) 

I saw, moreover, in my dream, that the Interpreter 
took him by the hand, and had him into a little room, 
where sat two little children, * each one in his chair. 

enmity is subdued 5 and he delights in " cleansing himself from all 
filthiness of flesh and spirit, and perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 
* " Two children" — In this instructive emblem, Passion represent* 
the prevalence of the carnal aflections over reason and religion. 
Whatever be the object, this dominion of the passions produces fretful 



52 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 

The name of the eldest was Passion, and the name 
of the other Patience. Passion seemed to be much 
discontented, but Patience was very quiet. Then 
Christian asked, What is the reason of the discontent 
of Passion ? The Interpreter answered, The governor 
of them would have him stay for his best tilings till 
the beginning of the next year ; but he will have all 
now. But Patience is willing to wait. 

Then I saw that one came to Passion and brought 
him a bag of treasure, and poured it down at Ins feet : 
the which he took up and rejoiced therein, and withal 
laughed Patience to scorn. But I beheld but a while, 
and he had lavished all away, and had nothing left him 
but rags. 

Then said Christian to the Interpreter, Expound this 
matter more fully to me. 

So he said. These two lads are figures : Passion of 
the men of this world, and Patience of the men of 
that which is to come. For as here thou seest Pas- 
sion will have all now this year, that is to say, in this 
world, so are the men of this world : they must have 
all their good things now, they cannot stay till next 
year, that is, until the next world, for their portion of 
good. That proverb, " A bird in the hand is worth two 
in the bush," is of more authority with them than are 
all the divine testimonies of the good of the world to 
come. But as thou sawest that he had quickly lavished 

ness and childish perverseness, when a man cannot obtain the imagined 
good his heart is set upon, which wholly relates to the present life. 
But this impatience of delay or disappointment is succeeded by pride, 
insolence, contempt of others, and inordinate momentary delight, if he 
be indulged with the possession of his idol. Such men may scorn 
believers as foolish and wretched : bnt they soon grow dissatisfied with 
success, and speedily lavish away their good things. On the other 
hand, Patience is the emblem of those who quietly and meekly wait for 
future happiness, renouncing present things for the sake of it. True 
riches, honours, and pleasures are intended for them, but not here: 
and, as well-educated little children, they simply wait for them till 
the appointed season, in the way of patient obedience. Reason deter- 
mines that a greater and more permanent good hereafter is preferable 
to a less and fleeting enjoyment at present ; faith realizes, asattainablej. 
a felicity infinitely more valuable than all which this world can possi- 
bly propose to us ; so that in this respect the life of faith is the reign of 
reason over passion, while unbelief makes way for the triumph of 
passion over reason. Nor can any thing be more essential to practi- 
cal religion than an abiding conviction, that it is the only true wisdom 
uniformly and cheerfully to part with every temporal good, whenever 
it interferes with the grand concerns of eternity. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 53 

all away, and had presently left him nothing but rags ; 
so will it be with all such men at the end of this 
world. 

Then said Christian, Now I see that Patience has 
the best wisdom, and that upon many accounts : be- 
cause he stays for the best things ; and also because 
he will have the glory of his, when the other has 
nothing but rags. 

Interp. Nay, you may add another, to wit, the glory 
of the next world will never wear out ; but these are 
suddenly gone. Therefore Passion had not so much 
reason to laugh at Patience, because he had his good 
things first, as Patience will have to laugh at Passion, 
because he had his best things last; for first must 
give place to last, because last must have its time to 
come ; but last gives place to nothing, for there is not 
another to succeed : he, therefore, that hath his por- 
tion first must needs have a time to spend it ; but he 
that has his portion last must have it lastingly : there- 
fore it is said of Dives, " In thy lifetime thou receivedst 
thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things ; but 
now he is comforted and thou art tormented," (Luke 
xvi, 19—31.) 

Chr. Then I perceive it is not best to covet things 
that are now, but to wait for tilings to come. 

Interp. You say truth; " For the things that are seen 
are temporal ; but the things that are not seen are 
eternal," (2 Cor. iv. 18.) But, though this be so, yet, 
since things present and our fleshly appetite are such 
near neighbours one to another ; and again, because 
things to come and carnal sense are such strangers one 
to another ; therefore it is that the first of these so sud- 
denly fall into amity, and that distance is so continu- 
ally between the second. 

Then 1 saw in my dream that the Interpreter took 
Christian by the hand, and led him into a place where 
was a fire* burning against a wall, and one standing 

* " A fire"— The doctrine of the true believer's final perseverance is 
here stated in so guarded a manner as to preclude every abuse of it. 
The emblem implies, that the soul is indeed quickened by special 
grace, and endued with holy affections ; and this heavenly flame is 
not almost extinguished or covered with ashes for many years, and 
then revived a little at the closing scene ; but it " burns higher and 



54 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

by it, always casting much water upon it to quench it ; 
yet did the fire burn higher and hotter. 

Then said Christian, What means this ? 

The Interpreter answered, This fire is the work of 
grace that is wrought in the heart ; he that casts water 
upon it to extinguish and put it out, is the devil : but 
in that thou seest the fire notwithstanding burn higher 
and hotter, thou shalt also see the reason of that. So 
he had him about to the backside of the wall, where he 
saw a man with a vessel of oil in his hand, of which 
he did also continually cast, but secretly, into the fire* 

Then said Christian, What means this 1 

The Interpreter answered, This is Christ, who con- 
tinually with the oil of his grace maintains the work 
already begun in the heart : by the means of which, 
notwithstanding what the devil can do, the souls of his 
people prove gracious still, (2 Cor. xii, 9.) And in that 
thou sawest that the man stood behind the wall to main- 
tain the fire ; this is to teach thee, that it is hard for 
the tempted to see how this work of grace is main- 
tained in the soul. 

I saw also that the interpreter took him again by the 
hand, and led him into a pleasant* place, where was 

hotter," notwithstanding the opposition of depraved nature, and the 
unremitted efforts of Satan to quench it ;" for the Lord secretly feeds 
it with the oil-of his grace. Unbelievers can persevere in nothing but 
impiety or hypocrisy : when a professor remarkably loses the vigour 
of his affections, the reality of his conversion becomes doubtful, arid he 
can take no warranted encouragement from the doctrine in question ; 
but when any one grows more spiritual, zealous, humble, and exem- 
plary, in the midst of harassing temptations, while he gives the whole 
glory to the Lord, he may take comfort from the assurance, that "he 
shall be kept by his power, through faith, unto salvation.'' Vet the 
way, in which the tempted are preserved, often so far exceeds their 
expectations, that they are a wonder to themselves : every thing seems 
to concur in giving Satan advantage against them, and his efforts 
appear very successful ; yet they continue from year to year, " cleav- 
ing with purpose of heart unto the Lord," trusting in his mercy, and 
desirous of living to his glory. The instruction especially inculcated 
by this emblem is, an entire reliance on the secret but powerful influ- 
ence of divine grace, to maintain and carry on the sanctifying work 
that has been begun in the soul. 

* " Pleasant" — Many desire the joys and glories of heaven (accor- 
ding to their carnal ideas of them,) but few are willing to " fight the 
good fight of faith :" yet, without this fixed purpose of lieart, the result 
of divine grace, profession will end in apostacy : — " the man began to 
build, but was not able to finish." This is emphatically tauffbt~us by 
the next emblem. Salvation is altogether free and without price : but 
we must learn to value it so highly as to venture or suffer " the loss of 
all things that we may win Christ ;" or we shall not be able to break 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 55 

builded a stately pajace, beautiful to behold ; at the 
sight of which Christian was greatly delighted : he saw 
also upon the top thereof certain persons walking, who 
were clothed all in gold. 

Then said Christian, May we go in thither? 

Then the interpreter took him and led him up to- 
wards the door of the palace ; and behold, at the door 
stood a great company of men as desirous to go in, but 
durst not. There also sat a man at a little distance 
from the door at a table-side, with a book and his ink- 
horn before him, to take the name of him that should 
enter therein: he saw also, that in the doorway stood 
many men in armour to keep it, being resolved to do 
to the men that would enter what hurt and mischief 
they could. Now was Christian somewhat in amaze : 
at last, when every man started back for fear of the 
armed men, Christian saw a man of a very stout coun- 
tenance come up to the man that sat there to write, 
saying, " Set down my name, Sir:" the which when he 
had done, he saw the man draw his sword, and put a 
helmet upon his head, and rush towards the door upon 
the armed men, who laid upon him with deadly force ; 
but the man was not at all discouraged, but fell to cut- 
ting and hacking most fiercely. So after he had re- 
ceived and given many wounds to those that attempted 
to keep him out, he cut his way through them all, and 
pressed forward into the palace ; at which there was a 
pleasant voice heard from those that were within, even 
of those that walked upon the top of the palace, saying 

Come in, come in ; 

Eternal glory thou shalt win. 

So he went in, and was clothed with such garments as 
they. Then Christian smiled, and said, I think verily 
I know the me ailing of this. 

through the combined opposition of the world, the flesh, and the devil. 
If we fear any mischief that our enemies can attempt against us, more 
than coming short of salvation, we shall certainly perish, notwith- 
standing our notions and convictions. We should, therefore, count 
our cost, and pray for courage and constancy ; that we may give in 
cur names as in earnest to win the prize : then, " putting on the whole 
armour of God," and relying on his grace, we must fight our way 
through with patience and resolution ; while many, " being harnessed 
and carrying bows," shamefully " turnback in the day of battle." 



56 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Now, said Christian, let me go* hence. Nay, stay, 
said the interpreter, till I have showed thee a little 
more, and after that thou shalt go on thy way. So he 
took him by the hand again, and led him into a very 
dark room, where there sat a man in an iron cage. 

Now the man, to look on, seemed very sad. He sat 
with his eyes looking down to the ground, his hands 
folded together, and he sighed as if he would break his 
heart.. Then said Christian, What means this ! At 
which the interpreter bid him talk with the man. 

Then said Christian to the. man, What art thou ? The 
man answered, I am what I was not once. 

Chr. What wert thou once ? 

The man said, I was once a fair and flourishing pro- 
fessor, both in mine own eyes, and also in the eyes of 
others : I once was, as I thought, fair for the celestial 
city, and had then even joy at the thought that I 
should get thither, (Luke viii. 13.) 

Chr. Well, but what art thou now? 

Man. I am now a man of despair, and am shut up 
in it, as in this iron cage : I cannot get out ; O now I 
cannot ! 

Chr. But how earnest thou in this condition? 

Man. I left off to watch and be sober ; I laid the 
reins upon the neck of my lusts ; I sinned against the 
light of the word, and the goodness of God : I have 
grieved the Spirit, and he is gone ; I tempted the devil, 

* " Let me go" — The time spent in acquiring knowledge and sound 
judgment, is not lost, though it may seem to retard a man's progress, 
or interfere with his more active services : and the next emblem is 
admirably suited to teach the young convert watchfulness and caution. 
Christian's discourse with the man in the iron cage sufficiently ex- 
plains the author's meaning; but it has been observed by several 
persons, that the man's opinion of his own case does not prove that it 
was indeed desperate. Doubtless these fears prevail in some cases of 
deep despondency, when there is every reason to conclude them 
groundless ; and we should always propose the free grace of the Gospel 
to those that have sinned in the most aggravated manner, when they 
become sensible of their guilt and danger": yet it is an awful fact, that 
some are thus " shut up under despair,'' beyond relief; and " it is im- 
possible to renew them to repentance." No true penitent, therefore, 
can be in this case : and we are commanded " in meekness to instruct 
those that oppose themselves, if peradventure God will give them 
repentance." But, at the same time, we should leave the doom of 
apparent apostates to God ; and improve their example, as a warning 
to ourselves and others, not to venture one step in so dangerous a 
path. This our author has judiciously attempted, and we should be 
careful not to counteract bis obvious intention. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 57 

and he is to come to me ; I have provoked God to anger 
and he has left me ; I have so hardened my heart that 
I cannot repent. 

Then said Christian to the Interpreter, But is there 
no hope for such a man as this ? Ask him, said the In- 
terpreter. 

Then said Christian, Is there no hope, but you must 
be kept in the iron cage of despair ? 

Man. No, not at all. 

Chr. Why 1 the Son of the blessed is very pitiful. 

Man. I have crucified him to myself afresh ; I have 
despised his person, I have despised his righteousness, 
I have counted his blood an unholy thing, I have done 
despite to the spirit of grace, (Luke xix; 14 ; Heb. vi. 
4 — 6 ; x. 28, 29;) therefore I have shut myself out of 
all the promises, and there now remains to me nothing 
but threatenings, dreadful threatenings, fearful threat- 
enings, of certain judgment and fiery indignation, 
which shaH devour me as an adversary. 

Chr. For what did you bring yourself into this con- 
dition ? 

Man. For the lusts, pleasures, and profits, of this 
world, in the enjoyment of which I did then promise 
myself much delight ; but now every one of those 
things also bite me and gnaw me like a burning worm. 

Chr. But canst thou not repent and turn? 

Man. God hath denied me repentance. His word 
gives me no encouragement to believe ; yea, himself 
hath shut me up in this iron cage ; nor can all the men 
in the world let me out. O eternity ! eternity ! how 
shall I grapple with the misery that I must meet with 
in eternity ! 

Then said the Interpreter to Christian, Let this man's 
misery be remembered by thee, and be an everlasting 
caution to thee. 

Well, said Christian, this is fearful ! God help me 
to watch and be sober, and to pray that I may shun the 
cause of tins man's misery. Sir, is it not time for me 
to go on my way now ? 

Interp. Tarry till I shall show thee one thing more, 
and then thou shalt go on thy way. 

So he took Christian by the hand again, and led him 



58 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

into a chamber where there was one rising - out of bed ; 
and as he put on his raiment he shook and trembled. 
Then said Christian, Why doth this man thus tremble 1 
The Interpreter then bid him tell to Christian the reason 
of his so doing. So he began and said, This night as I 
was in my sleep I dreamed, and behold, the heavens 
grew exceeding black ; also it thundered and lightened 
in most fearful wise, that it put me into an agony: so 
I looked up in my dream, and saw the clouds rack at 
an unusual rate ; upon which I heard a great sound of 
a trumpet, and saw also a man sit upon a cloud, at- 
tended with the thousands of heaven : they were all in 
flaming fire, also the heavens were on a burning flame. 
I heard then a voice, saying, " Arise, ye dead, and come 
to judgment ;" and with that the rocks rent, the graves 
opened, and the dead that were therein came forth, 
(John v. 28, 29 ; 1 Cor. xv. 51—58 ; 2 Thess. i. 7—10 ; 
Jude 14, 15; Rev. xx. 11 — 15 ;) some of them were ex- 
ceeding glad, and looked upwards ; and some sought 
to hide themselves under the mountains, (Ps. 1. 1 — 3 
22 ; Isa. xxvi. 20, 21 ; Mic. vii. 16, 17 :) then I saw the man 
that sat upon the cloud open the book, and bid the 
world draw near. Yet there was by reason of a fierce 
flame which issued out and came before him, a conve- 
nient distance betwixt him and them, as betwixt the 
judge and the prisoners at the bar, (Dan. vii. 9, 10 ; Mai. 
iii. 2, 3.) I heard it also proclaimed to them that at- 
tended on the man that sat on the cloud, " Gather toge- 
ther the tares, the chaff, and stubble, and cast them into 
the burning lake :" and with that the bottomless pit 
opened just whereabout I stood; out of the mouth of 
which there came, in an abundant manner, smoke, and 
coals of fire, with hideous noises. It was also said to 
the same persons, " Gather my wheat into the garner," 
(Mai. iv. 1 ; Matt. iii. 2 ; xiii. 30 ; Luke iii. 17.) And 
with that I saw many catched up and carried away into 
the clouds, (1 Thess. iv, 13—18,) but 1 was left behind. 
I also sought to hide myself, but I could not, for the 
man that sat upon the cloud still kept his eye upon me ; 
my sins also came in my mind, and my conscience did 
accuse me on every side, (Rom. ii. 14, 15.) Upon this 1 
awaked from my sleep. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 59 

Chr. But what was it that made you so afraid of this 
sight ? 

Man. Why I thought that the day of judgment was 
come, and that I was not ready for it : but this frighted 
me most, that the angels gathered up several and left 
me behind ; also the pit of hell opened her mouth just 
where I stood. My conscience too afflicted me ; and, 
as I thought, the Judge had always his eye upon me, 
showing indignation in his countenance. 

Then said the Interpreter to Christian, Hast thou 
considered all these things? 

Chr. Yes ; and they put me in hope * and fear. 

Interp. Well, keep all things so in thy mind, that 
they may be as a goad in thy sides, to prick thee for- 
ward in the way thou must go. Then Christian began 
to gird up his loins, and to address himself to his 
journey. Then said the Interpreter, The Comforter be 
always with thee, good Christian, to guide thee in the 
way that leads to the city. So Christian went on his 
way, saying — 

Here I have seen things rare and profitable ; 

Things pleasant, dreadful, things to make me stable 

In what I have begun to take in hand : 

Then let me think on them, and understand 

Wherefore they show'd me were ; and let me be 

Thankful, O good Interpreter, to thee. 

Now I saw f in my dream, that the highway, up 
which Christian was to go, was fenced on either side 

* " In hope" — Our safety consists in a due proportion of hope and fear: 
when devoid of hope, we resemble a ship without an anchor : when unre- 
strained by fear, we are like the same vessel under full sail without ballast, 
(1 Pet. i. 13—17.) Indiscriminate censures of all fear as die result of 
unbelief, and unguarded commendations of strong confidence, wif.iout 
respect to the spirit and conduct of professors, not only leads to much self- 
deception, but also tends to make believers unstable, unwatchful, and even 
uncomfortable ; for the humble often cannot atttain to that confidence that 
is represented almost as essential to faith ; and true comfort is the effect 
of watchfulness, diligence, and circumspection. Upon the whole, what 
lessons could possibly have been selected of greater importance, or' more 
suited to establish the new convert, than these are, which our author has 
most ingeniously and agreeably inculcated, under the emblem of die Inter- 
preter's curiosities ? They are indeed the principal subjects wliich faithful 
ministers enforce, publicly and in private, on all who begin to profess 
the Gospel ; and which every true disciple of Christ daily seeks to have 
more clearly discovered to his mind, and more deeply impressed upon his 
heart. 

t " Now I saw" — Divine illumination in many respects tends to quicken 
the believer's hopes and fears, and to increase his earnestness and diligence ; 



60 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

with a wall, and that wall was called Salvation, (Isa. 
xxvi, 1.) TJp this way therefore did burthened Chris- 
tian run, but not without great difficulty, because of 
the load on his back. 

He ran thus till he came at a place somewhat as- 
cending, and upon that place stood a cross, and a 
little below, in the bottom, a sepulchre. So I saw in 
my dream, that just as Christian came up with the 
cross, Ms burthen loosed from off his shoulders, and 
fell from off his back, and began to tumble, and so 
continued to do till it came to the mouth of the sepul- 
chre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more. 

Then was Christian glad and lightsome, and said 
with a merry heart, " He hath given me rest by Ills 
sorrow, and life by his death." Then he stood still a 
while to look and wonder ; for it was very surprising 
to him, that the sight of the cross should thus ease 
him of his burthen. He looked, * therefore, and looked 

but nothing can finally relieve him from his burthen, except the clear dis- 
covery of the nature and glory of redemption. With more general views 
of the subject, and an implicit reliance on God's mercy through Jesus 
Christ, the humbled sinner enters the way of life, which is walled by salva- 
tion : yet he is oppressed with an habitual sense of guilt, and often bowed 
down with fears, till "the Comforter, who glorifies^Christ, receives of his, 
and shows it to him," (John xvi. 14.) When in this divine light the soul 
contemplates the Redeemer's cross, and discerns more clearly his love to 
lost sinners in thus dying for them ; the motive and efficacy of his intense 
sufierings : the glory of the Divine perfections harmoniously displayed in 
this surprising expedient for saving the lost ; the honour of the Divine law 
and government, and the evil and desert of sin, most energetically pro- 
claimed in this way of pardoning transgressors and reconciling enemies : and 
the perfect freeness and sufficiency of this salvation ; then " his conscience 
is purged from dead works to serve the living God." by a simple reliance 
on. the atoning blood of Emmanuel. This deliverance from the burthen 
of guilt is in some respects final, as to the well-insmicted and consistent 
behever ; his former sins are buried, no more to be his terror and distress. 
He will indeed be deeply humbled under a sense of his guilt, and some- 
times he may question his acceptance : but Ms distress, before he understood 
the way of deliverance, was habitual, except in a few transient seasons of 
relief, and often oppressed him when most diligent and watchful ; but now 
he is only burthened when he has been betrayed into sin, or when strug- 
gling with peculiar temptations ; and he constantly finds relief by looking 
to tlie cross. Many indeed never attain to this habitual peace : this is die 
effect of remaining ignorance, error, or negligence, which scriptural 
instructions are the proper means of obviating. But it was not probable 
that our author should, so to speak, draw die character of his hero from 
the lowest order of hopeful professors : it mavrathercaU for our admiration, 
that, in an allegory (which is the peculiar effort of a vigorous imagination) 
he was preserved, by uncommon strength of mind and depth of judgment, 
from stating Cliristiau's experience above the general attainmeuis of con- 
sistent believers, under solid instructions. 

* He looked" — Christian's tears, amidst his gladness, intimate that deli- 
verance from guilt, by faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, tends to 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 61 

again, even till the springs that were in his head sent 
the water down his cheeks, (Zech. xii, 10.) Now, as 
he stood looking and weeping, behold three shining 
ones came to him, and saluted him with " Peace be 
to thee." So the first said to him, " Thy sins be for- 
given thee," (Mark ii, 5 :) the second stripped him of 
his rags, and clothed him with change of raiment ; 
the third also set a mark on his forehead, and gave 
him a roll with a seal upon it, (Zech. iii, 4 : Eph. i, 
13,) which he bid him look on as he run, and that he 
should give it in at the celestial gate ; so they went 
their way. Then Christian gave three leaps for joy, 
and went on singing- 



increase humiliation, sorrow for sin, and abhorrence of it ; though it 
mingles even those affections with a sweet and solid pleasure. By the 
" three shining ones," the author might allude to the ministration of angels 
as conducive to the comfort of the heirs of salvation ; but he could not 
mean to ascribe Cin-istian's confidence to any impressions, or suggestion of 
texts to him by a voice, or in a dream ; any more than he intended, by his 
view of the cross, to sanction die account that persons of heated imagina- 
tions have given, of their having seen one hang on a cross, covered with 
blood, who told diem their sins were pardoned ; whde it has been evident, 
tbat they never understood the spiritual glory, or the sanctifying tendency 
of the doctrine of a crucified Saviour. Such things are the mere delusions 
of enthusiasm, from which our author was remarkably free: but the nature 
of an allegory led him to this mediod of describing the happy change that 
takes place in the pilgrim's experience, when he obtains peace and" joy in 
believing. His uniform doctrine sufficiently shows, that he considered spi- 
ritual apprehensions of the nature of the atonement as the only source of 
genuine peace and comfort. And, as die "mark in the forehead" plainly 
signifies the renewal of the soul to holiness, so that the mind of Christ may 
appear in the outward conduct, connected with an open profession of the 
faith, while the "roll with a seal upon it", denotes such an assurance of 
acceptance, as appears most clear and satisfactory, when the believer most 
attentively compares his views, experiences, desires, and purposes, with the 
Holy Scriptures ; so he could not possibly intend to ascribe such effects to 
any other agent than the Holy Spirit ; who by enabling a man to exercise 
all filial affections towards God in an enlarged degree, as " die Spirit of 
adoption bears witness" with his conscience, that God is reconcded to him, 
having pardoned all his sins ; that he is justified by faith in the righteous- 
ness of Emmanuel ; and that he is a child of God, and an heir of heaven. 
These things are clear and intelligible to diose who have experienced this 
happy change ; and the abiding effects of their joy in the Lord, upon tiieir 
dispositions and conduct (like the impression of the seal after the wax is/ 
cooled) distinguish it from the confidence and comfort of hypocrites and 
enthusiasts. It must, however, continue to be " the secret of the Lord, 
with them that fear him," "hidden manna," and "a white stone, having 
in it a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he diat receiveth 
it," (Psalm xxv, 14 ; Rev. ii,17.) Here again we meet with an engraving, 
end the following lines : — 

" Who's this? Thepdgrim. How! Tis very true : 
Old things are past away ; all's become new. 
Strange ! he's another man, upon my word ; 
They be fine feathers that make a fine bird." 



63 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Thus far did I come laden with my sin, 
Nor could aught ease the grief that I was in, 
Till I came hither ; what a place is this ! 
Must here be the beginning of my bliss 1 
Must here the burthen fall from off my back 1 
Must here the strings that bind it to me crack ? 
Blest cross ! blest sepulchre ! blest rather be 
The Man that there was put to shame for me ! 

I saw * then in my dream, that he went on thus, even 
until he came at the bottom, where he saw, a little 
out of the way, three men fast asleep, with fetters 
upon their heels. The name of the one was Simple, 
another Sloth, and the third Presumption. 

Christian then seeing them lie in this case went to 
them, if peradventure he might awake them; and 
cried, You are like them that sleep on the top of a 
mast, (Prov. xxiii. 34,) for the dead sea is under you, 
a gulph that hath no bottom : awake, therefore, and 
come away ; be willing also, and I will help you off 
with your irons. He also told them, If he that goeth 
about like a roaring lion comes by, you will certainly 
become a prey to his teeth, (1 Pet. v, 8.) With that 
they looked upon him, and began to reply in this sort : 
Simple said, " I see no danger ;" Sloth said, " Yet a 
little more sleep ;" and Presumption said, " Every vat 
must stand upon its own bottom." And so they laid 
down to sleep again, and Christian went on his way. 

* "1 saw"— We were before informed, that other ways "butted down 
opon" the strait way ; and the connexion of the allegory required die intro- 
duction of various characters, besides that of the true believer. Many may 
outwardly walk in the ways of religion, and seem to be pilgrims, who are 
destitute of those "things which accompany salvation." The three alle- 
gorical persons next introduced are nearly related ; they appear to be 
pilgrims, but are a little out of the way, asleep, and fettered. Many of 
this description are found, where the truth is preached, as well as else- 
where: they hear, and learn to talk about the Gospel: have transient 
convictions, which are soon quieted ; cleave to die world, and rest more 
securely in the bondage of sin and Satan, by means of their profession of 
religion. They rejecf or pervert all instruction, hate all trouble, yet are 
confident that every thing is and will be well with them, while teachers, 
after their own hearts, lull them with a syren's song, by confounding the 
form with the power of godliness ; and if any one attempt, in the most 
affectionate manner, to warn them of their danger, they answer (according 
to the tenor of die words here used,) " Mind your own business ; we see no 
danger ; you shall not disturb our composure, or induce us to make so much 
ado about religion ; see to yourselves, and leave us to ourselves." Thua 
they sleep on fill death and judgment awake them. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 63 

Yet * was he troubled to think, that men in that 
danger should so little esteem the kindness of him 
that so freely offered to help them, both by the 
awakening of them, counselling of them, and proffer- 
ing to help them off with their irons. And as he was 
troubled thereabout, he spied two men come tumbling 
over the wall on the left-hand of the narrow way ; 
and they made up apace to liim. The name of the 
one was Formalist, and the name of the other Hypo- 
crisy. So, as I said, they drew up unto him, who thus 
entered with them into discourse. 

Chr. Gentlemen, whence come you, and whither go 
you? 

Form. 4- Hyp. We were born in the land of Vain- 
glory, and are going for praise to mount Zion. 

Chr. Why came you not in at the gate which 
standeth at the beginning of the way? Know you 
not that it is written, that " He that cometh not in by 
the door, but climbeth up some other way, the same 
is a thief and a robber ?" (John x, 1.) 

They said, that to go to the gate of entrance was by 
all their countrymen counted too far about ; and that 
therefore their usual way was to make a short cut of 
it, and to climb over the wall, as they had done. 

Chr. But will it not be counted a trespass against 
the Lord of the city whither we are bound, thus to 
violate his revealed will ? 



* " Yet"— The true Christian will always be troubled when he thinks of 
the vain confidence of many professors : but he is more surprised by it at 
first than afterwards ; for he sets oat with die idea, that all apparently reli- 

tious people sincerely seek the salvation of God : but at length experience 
raws his attention to those parts of Scripture which mention tares among 
the wheat, and foolish virgins among the wise. Formalist and Hypocrisy 
soon come in his way ; these near relations represent such as by notions 
and external observances deceive themselves, and those who more grossly 
attempt to impose upon others. They are both actuated by vain glory, and 
seek the applause of men in their religious profession and most zealous: 
perfonnances ; while the credit dius acquired subserves also their temporal 
interest: but repentance, conversion, and the life of faidi, would not only 
cost them too much labour, but destroy die very principle by which they 
are actuated. By a much " shorter cut," they become a part of the visible 
church, are satisfied with a form of godliness, and kept in countenance 
by great numbers among every description of professing Christians, and 
the example of multitudes in every age. Their confidence, however, 
will not bear the light of Scripture ; they therefore shrink from investiga- 
tion, and treat with derision and reproaches all who would convince 
them of their fatal mistake, or show them the real nature of evangelical 
religion. 



64 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

They told him, that, as for that, he needed not 
trouble his head thereabout ; for what they did they 
had custom for ; and could produce, if need were, 
testimony that would witness it for more than a thou- 
sand years. 

But said Christian, will your practice stand a trial at 
law ? 

They told him, that custom, it being of so long 
standing as above a thousand years, would doubtless 
now be admitted as a thing legal by an impartial 
judge ; and besides, say they, if we get into the way, 
what's matter which way we get in ! If we are in, 
we are in : thou art but in the way, wiio, as we per- 
ceive, came in at the gate ; and we are also in the 
way, that came tumbling over the wall : wherein now 
is thy condition better than ours ? 

Chr. I walk by the rule of my Master, you walk by 
the rude working of your fancies. You are counted 
thieves already by the Lord of the way, therefore I 
doubt you will not be found true men at the end of 
the way. You come in by yourselves without his 
direction, and shall go out by yourselves without his 
mercy. 

To this they made but little answer ; only they bid 
him look to himself. Then I saw that they went on 
every man in his way, without much conference one 
with another ; save that these two men told Christian, 
that, as to laws and ordinances, they doubted not but 
they should as conscientiously do them as he ; there- 
fore, said they, we see not wherein thou differest 
from us, but by the coat that is on thy back, which 
was, as we trow, given thee by some of thy neigh- 
bours, to hide the shame of thy nakedness. 

Chr. By laws and ordinances you will not be saved, 
(Gal. ii, 16,) since you came not in by the door. And 
as for this coat that is on my back, it was given me 
by the Lord of the place whither I go ; and that, as 
you say, to cover my nakedness with. And I take it 
as a token of kindness to me ; for I had nothing but 
rags before : and besides, thus I comfort myself as I 
go ; surely, think I, when I come to the gate of the 
city, the Lord thereof will know me for good, since I 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 65 

have his coat on my back ; a coat that he gave me 
freely in the day that he stripped me of my rags. I 
have, moreover, a mark in my forehead, of which 
perhaps you have taken no notice, which one of my 
Lord's most ultimate associates fixed there in the day 
that my burthen fell off my shoulders. I will tell to 
you, moreover, that I had then given me a roll sealed, 
to comfort me by reading as I go on the way ; I was 
also bid to t give it in at the celestial gate in token of 
my certain going in after it : all which things I doubt 
you want, and want them because you came not in at 
the gate. 

To these things they gave him no answer; only 
they looked upon each other and laughed. Then I 
saw that they went on all, save that * Christian kept 
before, who had no more talk but with himself, and 
that sometimes sighingly and sometimes comfortably; 
also he would be often reading in the roll that one of 
the shining ones gave him, by which he was refreshed. 

I beheld then that they all went on till they came to 
the foot of the hill,t Difficulty ; at the bottom of which 
was a spring. There were also in the same place two 
other ways, besides that which came straight from 

* " Save that" — Even such Christians as are most assured of their accept- 
ance, and competent to perceive the awful delusions of false professors, find 
cause for sighs amidst their comforts, when employed in serious retired self- 
reflection. "Nothing can exclude the uneasiness which arises from indwell- 
ing sin, with its unavoidable effects, and from the crimes and miseries they 
witness around them. 

t "Hill"— The hill Difficulty represents those circumstances which 
require peculiar self-denial and exertion, that commonly prove the believer's 
sincerity, after he has first obtained " a good hope through grace." — The 
opposition of the world, the renunciation of temporal interests, or the pain- 
ful task of overcoming inveterate evil habits or constitutional propensities 
fwhich during his first anxious earnestness seemed perhaps to be destroyed, 
though in fact they were only suspended :) these and such like trials prove 
a severe test ; but there is no hope, except in pressing forward ; and the 
encouragements received under the faithful ministry of the Gospel, prepare 
the soul for every conflict and effort. There are, however, bye-ways ; and 
the difficulty may be avoided without a man's renouncing his profession : 
he may decline the self-denying duty, or refuse the demanded sacrifice, and 
find some plausible excuse to his own conscience, or among his neighbours. 
But the true believer will be suspicious of these easier ways, on the right 
hand or the left : his path lies straight forward, and cannot be travelled 
without ascending the hill ; which he desires to do, because his grand 
concern is to be found right at last. On the contrary, they who chiefly 
desire, at a cheap rate, to keep up their credit and confidence, will venture 
into perilous or ruinous paths, till they either openly apostatize, or get 
entangled in some fatal delusion, and are heard of no more among the 
people of God. These lines axe here inserted :•— 



66 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

the gate ; one turned to the left hand and the other to 
the right, at the bottom of the hill ; but the narrow 
way lay right up the hill, and the name of the going 
up the side of the hill is called Difficulty. Christian 
went now to the spring, and drank thereof to refresh 
himself, (Isa. xlix, 10,) and began to go up the hill, 
saying — 
The hill, though high, I covet to ascend, 
The difficulty will not me offend ; 
For I perceive the way to life lies here : 
Come, pluck up, heart, let's neither faint nor fear. 
Better, though difficult, the right way to go, 
Than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe. 

The other two also came on the foot of the hill ; but 
when they saw that the hill was steep and high, and 
that there were two other ways to go ; and supposing 
also that these two w T ays might meet again with that 
up which Christian went, on the other side of the hill, 
therefore they were resolved to go into those ways. 
Now the name of one of those ways was Danger, and 
the name of the other Destruction. So the one took 
the way which is called Danger, which did lead him 
into a great wood ; and the other took directly up the 
way to Destruction, which led him into a wide field, 
full of -dark mountains, where he stumbled and fell, 
and rose no more. 

I looked* then after Christian to see him go up the 
hill, where I perceived he fell from running to going, 

" Shall they who wrong begin yet rightly end? 
Shall they at all have safety for their friend ? 
No, no ; in headstrone manner they set out, 
And headlong they will fall at last, no doubt." 

* " 1 looked" — The difficulties of believers often seem to increase as they 
proceed ; this damps their spirits, and they find more painful exertion re- 
quisite in pressing forward, than they expected, especially when they were 
rejoicing in the Lord : he however helps them, and "provides for their 
refreshment, that they may not faint. But, whether their trials be mode- 
rated, or remarkable divine consolations be vouchsafed, it is, alas ! very 
common for them to presume too much on their perseverance hitherto, and 
on the privileges to which they have been admitted: thus their ardour 
abates, their diligence and vigilance are relaxed, and they venture to allow 
themselves some respite from exertion. Then drowsiness steals upon therm 
darkness envelopes their souls, the evidences of their acceptance are obscured 
or lost, and the event wouJa be fatal, did not the Lord excite them to 
renewed earnestness by salutary warnings and alarms. Nor are believers 
at any time more exposed to this temptation, than when outward ease 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 67 

and from, going to clambering upon his hands and his 
knees, because of the steepness of the place. Now 
about the midway to the top of the hill was a pleasant 
arbour, made by the Lord of the hill for the refreshing 
of weary travellers ; thither, therefore, Christian got, 
where also he sat down to rest him : then he pulled 
his roll out of his bosom, and read therein to his com- 
fort , he also now began afresh to take a review of 
the coat or garment that was given him as he stood 
by the cross. Thus pleasing himself awhile, he at 
last fell into a slumber, and thence into a fast sleep, 
which detained him in that place until it was almost 
night ; and in his sleep his roll fell out of his hand. 
Now, as he was sleeping, there came one to him and 
awaked him, saying, " Go to the ant, thou sluggard ; 
consider her ways, and be wise," (Prov. vi, 6.) And 
with that Christian suddenly started up, and sped him 
on his way, and went apace till he came to the top of 
the hill. 

Now when he was got up to the top of the hill there 
came two men * running to meet him amain ; the 

hath succeeded to great hardships, patiently and conscientiously endured ; 
for at such a crisis they are least disposed to question then - own sincerity; 
and Satan is sure to employ all Ids subtlety to lull them into such a 
security as is in fact an abuse of the Lord's special goodness vouchsafed to 
them. 

* " Two men" — Some persons are better prepared to straggle through 
difficulties than to face dangers; alarming convictions will induce them 
to exercise a temporary self-denial, and to exert themselves with diligence; 
yet the very appearance of persecution will drive them back to their for- 
saken courses and companions. Through unbelief, distrust, and timidity, 
they fear the rage of men more than the wrath of God ; and never consider 
how easily the Lord can restrain or disarm the fiercest persecutors. Even 
true Christians are sometimes alarmed by the discourse of such' persons ; 
but, as diey believe the word of God, they are " moved by fear" to go for- 
ward at all hazards : such terrors, as induce mere professors to apostacy, 
excite upright souls to renewed self-examination by the Holy Scriptures, 
that they may "rejoice in hope" amidst their perils and tribulations ; and 
this often tends to discover to them those decays and losses, in respect of 
the vigour of holy affection, and the evidences of their acceptance, which 
had before escaped their notice. Christian's perplexity, fear, sorrow, 
remorse, redoubled earnestness, complaints, and self-reproacliings, when 
he missed Ms roll, and went back to seek it, exactly suit the experience of 
humble and conscientious believers, when unwatchfulness has brought their 
state into uncertainty ; but they do not at all accord to that of professors, 
who strive against all doubts indiscriminately, more than against any sin 
whatever, which is not connected with open scandal ; who strive hard to 
keep up their confidence against evidence, amidst continued negligence 
and allowed sins ; and exclaim against sighs, tears, and tenderness of con- 
science, as legality and unbelief. Bunyan would have excluded such pro- 
fessors from the company of bis pilgrims, though they often pass muster in 
modern times. 



THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS 



name of the one was Timorous, and of the other 
Mistrust : to whom Christian said, Sirs, what is the 
matter, you run the wrong way ? Timorous answered, 
that they were going to the city of Zion, and had got 
up that difficult place ; but, said he, the farther we go 
the more danger we meet with ; wherefore we turned, 
and are going back again. 

Yes, said Mistrust, for just before us lies a couple 
of lions in the way, (whether sleeping or waking we 
know not ;) and we could not think, if we came within 
reach, but they would presently pull us in pieces. 

Then said Christian, You make me afraid; but 
whither shall I flee to be safe 1 If I go back to my 
own country, that is prepared for Are and brimstone, 
and I shall certainly perish there : if I can get to the 
celestial city, I am sure to be in safety there : — I must 
venture : — to go back is nothing but death ; to go for- 
ward is fear of death, and life everlasting beyond it : — 
I will yet go forward. So Mistrust and Timorous ran 
down the hill, and Christian went on his way. But 
thinking again of what he had heard from the men, 
he felt in his bosom for his roll, that he might read 
therein and be comforted ; but he felt and found it 
not. Then was Christian in great distress, and knew 
not what to do ; for he wanted that which used to 
relieve him, and that which should have been his 
pass into the celestial city. Here therefore he began 
to be much perplexed, and knew not what to do. At 
last he bethought himself, that he had slept in the 
arbour that is on the side of the hill; and falling 
down upon his knees he asked God forgiveness for 
that foolish act, and then went back to look for his 
roll. But all the way he went back, who can suffi- 
ciently set forth the sorrow of Christian's heart ? 
Sometimes he sighed, sometimes he wept, and often- 
times he chid himself for being so foolish to fall 
asleep in that place, which was erected only for a 
little refreshment for his weariness. Thus, therefore, 
he went back, carefully looking on this side and on 
that, all the way as he went, if happily he might find 
the roll that had been his comfort so many times in 
his journey. He went thus till he came again in sight 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 60 

of the arbour where he sat and slept ; but that sight 
renewed his sorrow the more, by bringing again, even 
afresh, Ins evil of sleeping unto his mind. Thus there- 
fore, he now went on bewailing his sinful sleep, 
saying, " O wretched man that I am !" that I should 
sleep in the day-time ! (1 Thess. v, 7, 8 : Rev. ii, 4, 5.) 
That I should sleep in the midst of difficulty ! That I 
should so indulge the flesh, as to use that rest for ease 
to my flesh, which the Lord of the hill hath erected only 
for the relief of the spirits of pilgrims ! How many 
steps have I took in vain ! Thus it happened to Israel, 
for their sin they were sent back again by the way of 
the Red Sea : and I am made to tread those steps 
with sorrow, which I might have trod with delight, 
had it not have been for this sinful sleep. How far 
might 1 have been on my way by this time ! I am made 
to tread those steps thrice over, which I needed to 
have trod but once; yea, now also I am like to be 
benighted, for the day is almost spent : O that I had 
not slept ! 

Now * by this time he was come to the arbour again, 
where for awhile he sat down and wept ; but at last, 
(as God would have it,) looking sorrowfully down 
under the settle, there he spied his roll ; the which 
he with trembling and haste catched up and put in 
his bosom. Eut who can tell how joyful this man 
was when he had gotten his roll again ? For this roll 
was the assurance of his life, and acceptance at the de- 
sired haven. Therefore he laid it up in his bosom, gave 
God thanks for directing his eye to the place where 
it lay, and with joy and tears betook himself again to 
his journey. But O, how nimbly now did he go up the 

* " Now"— By means of extraordinary diligence, with renewed appli- 
cation to the blood of Christ, the believer will in time recover his warranted 
confidence, and God will " restore to him the joy of his salvation :" but he 
must, as it were, pass repeatedly over the same ground with sorrow, 
which, had it not been for his negligence, he might have passed at once 
with comfort. 

Instead of the words, ' : as God would have it," all the old copies read, 
"as Christian would have it;" which must mean, that the Lord fully 
granted his desires. But modern editors have substituted, " as Providence 
woidd have it," which is indeed clear sense, but not much in our author's 
manner, who perhaps would rather have ascribed Christian's success to 
special grace; yet, as some mistake seems to have crept into the old edi- 
tions, I have ventured my conjecture in the emendation of it, of which the 
reader may judge for himself. 



70 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

rest of the hill !— Yet * before he got up, the sun went 
down upon Christian ; and this made him again recall 
the vanity of his sleeping to his remembrance : and 
thus he again began to condole with himself : " O thou 
sinful sleep ! how for thy sake am I like to be be- 
nighted in my journey ! I must walk without the sun, 
darkness must cover the path of my feet, and I must 
hear the noise of doleful creatures, because of my 
sinful sleep !" Now also he remembered the story 
that Mistrust and Timorous told him of, how they 
were frighted with the sight of the lions. Then said 
Christian to himself again, these beasts range in the 
night for their prey; and if they should meet with me 
in the dark how should I shift them'? how should I 
escape being by them torn in pieces ? Thus he went 
on. But, while he was bewailing his unhappy mis- 
carriage, he lifted up his eyes, and behold there was 
a very stately palace before him, the name of which 
was Beautiful, t and it stood by the highway side. 

* " Yet" — Believers may recover their evidences of acceptance and yet 
suffer many troubles as the effects of their past unwatchfulness. The Lord 
rebukes and chastens those whom he loves : genuine comfort springs imme- 
diately from the vigorous exercise of holy affections in communion with 
God, which may be~suspended even when no doubts are entertained of final 
salvation; and "the true penitent is least disposed to forgive himself, when 
most satisfied 4hat the Lord hath forgiven him. 

t "Beautiful- — Hitherto Christian has been a solitary pilgrim : but we 
must next consider him as admitted to the communion of the faithful, and 
joining widi them in the most solemn public ordinances. This is repre- 
sented under the emblem of the house Beautiful, and the pilgrim's enter- 
tainment in it Mr. Bunyan was a protestaut dissenter, an Independent 
in respect of church government and discipline, and an Anti-pcedo-baptist, 
or one who deemed adult professors of repentance andfaidi the only proper 
subjects of baptism, and immersion the only proper mode of administering 
that ordinance. He must, therefore, have intended to describe especially 1 
the admission of the new convert as a member of a dissenting churcn 
(which consists of die communicants only) upon a profession of taith, and 
with adult baptism by immersion : but as he held open communion with 
Pcedo-baptists, the last circumstance is not necessarily included. Indeed 
he has expressed himself so candidly and cautiously, diat his representa- 
tions may suit the admission of new members into the society of professed 
Christians in any communion, where a serious regard to spiritual religion 
is in tliis respect maintained. It may, perhaps, be questioned how far, in 
the present state of things, this is practicable ; but we can scarcely deny it 
to be very desirable, that Christian societies should be formed according to 
the principles here exhibited : such would indeed be very beautiful, honour- 
able to God, conducive to mutual edification, and examples to the world 
around them. Different expedients also may be adopted for thus promoting 
the communion of the saints : but surely more might be done than is as 
present, perhaps any where, were all coucerued to attempt it boldly, ear- 
nestly, and with united efforts. 






WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 71 

So I saw in my dream, that he made haste and went 
forward, that if possible he might get lodging there. 
Now before he had gone far he entered into a very 
narrow passage, which was about a furlong off the 
porter's lodge : and looking very narrowly before him, 
as he went, he spied two lions k in the way. Now, 
thought he, I see the danger that Mistrust and Timor- 
ous were driven back by. (The lions were chained, 
but he saw not the chains.) Then he was afraid, and 
thought also himself to go back again after them ; for 
he thought nothing but death was before him. But 
the porter at the lodge, whose name is Watchful, per- 
ceiving that Christian made a halt, as if he would go 
back, cried unto him, saying, " Is thy strength so 
small?" (Mark iv, 40.) " Fear not the lions, for they 
are chained, and are placed there for trial of faith 
where it is, and for discovery of those that have 
none : keep in the midst of the path, and no hurt shall 
come unto thee." 

Then I saw that he went on trembling for fear of the 
lions ; but taking good heed to the directions of the 
porter, he heard them roar, but they did him no harm. 
Then he clapped his hands, and went on till he came 
and stood before the gate where the porter was. Then 
said Christian to the porter, Sir, what house is this ? 
And, may I lodge here to-night ? The porter answered, 
This house was built by the Lord of the hill, and he 
built it for the relief and security of pilgrims. Tins 



• " Lions" — A public profession of fafoh exposes a man to more opposi- 
tion from relatives and neighbours than a private attention to religion : and 
in our authors days, it was commonly the signal for persecution ; for which 
reason he places the lions in the road to the house Beautiful. Sense per- 
ceives the danger to which an open profession of religion may expose a 
man, and the imagination, through the suggestions of Sat,an, exceedingly 
magnifies them ; taith alone can discern the secret restraints which the 
Lord lays on the minds of opposers ; and even believers ars apt to be fearful 
and distrustful on such occasions. But the vigilant pastors of die flock 
obviate their fears, and by seasonable admonitions animate them to press 
forward, assured that nodring shall do them any real harnij and that all 
shall eventually prove beneficial to them. We meet with the followingjines 
in the old copies, which though misplaced in most of them, may refer to 
the pilgrim's present situation :— 

u Difficulty is behind, fear is before, 
Though he's got on the hill, the hons roar : 
A Christian man is never long at ease ; 
When one fright's gone, another doth him seize." 



73 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

porter * also asked whence he was 1 and whither fa© 



was going 



Ckr. I am come from the city of Destruction, and 
am going to mount Zion ; but, because the sun is now 
set, I desire, if I may, to lodge here to-night. 

Por. What is your name ? 

Chr. My name is now Christian, but my name ai 
the first was Graceless : I came of the race of Japheth, 
(Gen. ix. 27,) whom God will persuade to dwell in the 
tents of Shem. 

Por. But how doth it happen that you come so late ? 
The sun is set. 

CJir. I had been here sooner, but that, wretched man 
that I am ! I slept in the arbour that stands on the 
hill-side. Nay, I had, notwithstanding that, been here 
much sooner, but that in my sleep I lost my evidence, 
and came without it to the brow of the hill ; and then 
feeling for it and finding *it not, I was forced, with 
sorrow of heart, to go back to the place where I slept 
my sleep ; where I found it, and now I am come. 

Por. Well, I will call out one of the virgins of this 
place, who will, if she like your talk, bring you in to 
the rest of the family, according to the rules of the 
house. So Watchful the porter rang a bell, at the 

* " This porter" — The porter's inquiries and Christian's answers exhibit 
our author's sentiments on the caution with which members should be 
admitted into the communion of the faithful ; and it very properly shows 
how ministers, by private conversation, may form a judgment of a man's 
profession, "whether it be intelligent and the result of experience, or notional 
and formal. Christian assigned his sinful sleeping as the cause of his arriv- 
ing so late : when believers are oppressed with prevailing doubts of their 
acceptance, they are backward in joining themselves to God's people ; and 
tliis often tempts them to sinful delays, instead of exciting them to greater 
diligence. The subsequent discourse of Discretion with the pilgrim repre- 
sents such precautions and inquiries into the character and views of a pro- 
fessor, as may be made use of by any body of Cliristiaus, in order to prevent 
the intrusion of hnproper persons. The answers given to the several ques- 
tions proposed, constitute the proper external qualifications for admission 
to the Lord's table, when there is nothing in a man's principles and conduct 
inconsistent with them; the Lord alone'can judge how far they accord to 
the inward dispositions and affections of the heart. By the little discourse 
of others belonging to die family with Cliristian previous to his admission, 
the author probably meant, diat members should be admitted into CJu-istian 
societies with the approbation, at least, of the most prudent, pious, and 
candid part of those that constitute them : and according to the dictates of 
«s or endowments here personified. By giving him, " something 
to eat before supper," lie probably referred to those preparatory sermons 
and devotions, by which the administration of die Lord's supper was then 
frequently and with great propriety introduced. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. S3 

Sound of which, came out at the door of the house xl 
grave and beautiful damsel, named Discretion, and 
asked why she was called? 

The porter answered, This man is in a journey from 
the city of Destruction to mount Zion ; but being weary 
and benighted, he asked me if he might lodge here to- 
night : so I told him I would call for thee, who, after 
discourse had with him, mayest do as seemeth thee 
good, even according to the law of the house. 

Then she asked him whence he was ? and whither 
he was going? and he told her. She asked him also 
how he got in the way ? and he told her. Then she 
asked him what he had seen and met with in the way * 
and he told her. At last she asked his name ? So 
he said, It is Christian : and I have so much the more 
a desire to lodge here to-night, because, by what I per- 
ceive, this place was built by the Lord of the hill for 
the relief and security of pilgrims. So she smiled, but 
the water stood in her eyes ; and after a little pause 
she said, I will call forth two or three more of the 
family. So she ran to the door, and called out Pru- 
dence, Piety, and Charity, who after a little more 
discourse with him, had him into the family ; and many 
of them meeting him at the-- threshold of the house said 
" Come in, thou blessed of the Lord ; this house was 
built by the Lord of the hill, on purpose to entertain 
such pilgrims in." Then he bowed his head, and fol- 
lowed them into the house. So when he was come in 
and sat down, they gave him something to eat, and 
consented together, that, until supper was ready, some 
of them should have some particular discourse with 
Christian, for the best improvement of time ; and they 
appointed Piety, and Prudence, and Chanty, to dis- 
course with him ; and thus they began. 

Pi. Come,* good Christian, since we have been so 
loving to you, to receive you into our house this night, 

" Come"— The farther conversation of Piety and her eomDanions with 
Christian was subsequent to his admission, and represents the advantage 
of the communion of the saints, and the best method of conducting it. To 
lead believers to a serious review of the way in which they have "been led 
hitherto is every way profitable, as it tends to increase humiliation, grati- 
tude, faith and hope ; and must, therefore, proportiouably conduce w ie 
glory of God, and the edification of their bredireu. 
4 



74 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 

let us, if perhaps we may better ourselves thereby, tali:, 
with you of all thing's that have happened to you irt 
your pilgrimage. 

Chr. With a very good will ; and I am glad that you 
are so well disposed. 

Pi. What mo red you at first to betake yourself to a. 
pilgrimrs life. 

Chr. I was driven out of my native country by a 
dreadful sound that was in mine ears ; to wit, that un- 
avoidable destruction did attend me if I abode in that 
place where I was. 

Pi. But how did it happen that you came out of your 
country in this way ? 

Chr. It was as God would have it ; for when I was 
tinder the fears of destruction, I did not kaow whither 
to go ; but by chance there came a mam even to me as 
I was trembling and weeping, whose name is Evange- 
list, and he directed me to the wicket-gate, which else 
I should never have found, and so set me into the way 
that hath led me directly to this house. 

Pi. Bat did you not come by the house of the Inter- 
preter ? 

Chr. Yes, and did see such things there, the remem- 
brance of which will stick by me as long as I live ; es- 
pecially three thmgs ; to wit, how Christ, in despite of 
Satan, maintains his work of grace in the heart ; how 
the man had sinned himself quite out of hopes of God's 
mercy ; and also the dream of Mm that thought in his 
sleep the day of judgment was come. 

Pi. Why, did you hear him tell his dream? 

Chr. Yes, and a dreadful one it was, I thought ; it 
made my heart ache as he was telling of it ; but yet I 
am glad I heard it. 

Pi. Was this all you saw at the house of the Inter- 
preter ? 

Chr. No ; he took me and had me where he showed 
me a stately palace, and how the people were clad in 
gold that were in it ; and how there came a venturous 
man, and cut his way through the armed men that stood 
in the door to keep him out ;. and how he was bid to- 
come in and win eternal glory : me thought those things 
did ravish my heart. I would have staid at that goodt 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 75 

man's house a twelvemonth, but that I knew I had 
farther to go. 

Pi. And what saw you else in the way ? 

Chr. Saw ! Why, I went but a little farther, and I 
saw one, as I thought, in my mind, hang bleeding upon 
a tree : and the very sight of him made my burthen fall 
off my back (for I groaned under a very heavy burthen, 
but then it fell down from off me.) It was a strange 
thing to me, for I never saw such a thing before ; yea, 
and while I stood looking up (for then 1 could not for- 
bear looking) three, shining ones came to me: one of 
them testified that my sins were forgiven me : another 
stripped me of my rags, and gave me this embroidered 
coat which you see ; and the third set the mark which 
you see in my forehead, and gave me this sealed roll 
(and with that he plucked it out of his bosom.) 

Pi. But you saw more than this, did you not 1 

Chr. The things that I have told you were the best, 
yet some other matters I saw ; as, namely, I saw three 
men, Simple, Sloth, and Presumption, lie asleep, a little 
out of the way as I came, with irons upon their heels ; 
but do you think I could awake them ! I also saw For- 
mality and Hypocrisy come tumbling over the wall, to 
go, as they pretended to Zion, but they were quickly 
lost ; even as I myself did tell them, but they would 
not believe. But, above all, 1 found it hard work to 
get up this hill, and as hard to come by the lions' 
mouths ; and truly, if it had not been for the good man, 
the porter that stands at the gate, I do not know but 
that after all, I might have gone back again ; but now. 
I thank God, I am here ; and 1 thank you for receiving 
of me. 

Then Prudence* thought good to ask him a few ques- 
tions, and desired his answer to them. 

Pr. Do you not think sometimes of the country from 
whence you came ? 

* " Prudence"— Men may learn by human teaching to profess any doc- 
trine, and relate any experience ; nay, general convictions, transient affec- 
tions, and distinct notions may impose upon the man himself, and he may 
mistake them for true conversion. The best method of avoiding this dan- 
gerous rock consists in daily self-examination, and constant prayer to be? 
preserved from it ; and. as far as we are concerned, to form a judgment of 
others, in order to perform our several duties towards them, prudence U 
especially required, and will suggest such questions as follow b this piaca* 



76 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Chr. Yes, but with much shame and detestation; 
truly, if I had been mindful of that country from whence 
I came out, I might have had opportunity to have re- 
turned; but now I desire a better country, that is, a 
heavenly one, (Heb. xi. 16.) 

Pr. Do you not yet bear away with you some of the 
thing's that then you were conversant withal ? 

Chr. Yes, but greatly against my will; especially my 
inward and carnal cogitations, with which all my 
countrymen, as well as myself, were delighted : but 
now all those things are my grief; and might I but 
choose mine own things, I would choose never to think 
of those things more ; but when I would be doing of 
that which is best, that which is worst is with me, 
(Rom. vii.) 

Pr. Do you not find sometimes as if those things 
were vanquished, which at other times are your per- 
plexity ? 

Chr. Yes, but that is but seldom ; but they are tome 
golden hours in which such things happen to me. 

Pr. Can you remember by what means you find your 
annoyances at times as if they were vanquished ? 

Chr. Yes : when I think what I saw at the cross, 
that will do it ; and when I look upon my embroidered 
coat, that will do it ; and when I look into the roll that 
I carry in my bosom, that will do it ; and when my 
thoughts wax warm about whither I am going, that will 
do it. 

Pr. And what is it that makes you so desirous to go 
to mount Zion ? 

Chr. Why, there I hope to see him alive that did 
hang dead on the cross ; and there I hope to be rid of 
all those things that to this day are an annoyance to 
me ; there they say there is no death, (Isa. xxv. 8 ; Rev. 
xxi. 4;) and there I shall dwell with such company as 
I like best. For to tell you the truth, I lore him be- 
cause I was by him eased of my burthen ; and I am 
weary of my inward sickness. I would fain be where 

The true Christian's inmost feeling? will best explain the answers, which 
no exposition can elucidate to those who are unacquainted with the conflict 
to which they refer. The golden hours (fleeting and precious) are earnesta 
of the everlasting holy felicity of heaven. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 77 

1 shall die no more, and with the company that shall 
continually cry, " Holy, holy, holy." 

Then said Charity* to Christian, Have you a family ? 
are you a married man I 

Chr. I have a wife and four small children. 

Char. And why did not you bring them along with, 
you? 

Then Christian wept, and said, Oh, how willingly 
would I have done it ! but they were all of them utterly- 
averse to my going on pilgrimage. 

Char. But you should have talked to them, and have 
endeavoured to have shown them the danger of being 
left behind. 

Chr. So I did; and told them also what God had 
showed to me of the destruction of our city; but I 
seemed to them as one that mocked, and they believed 
me not, (Gen. xix. 14.) 

Char. And did you pray to God that he would bless 
your counsel to them ? 

Chr. Yes, and that with much affection; for you 
must think that my wife and poor children were very 
dear unto me. 

Char. But did you tell them of your own sorrow, 
and fear of destruction ? for I suppose that destruction 
was visible enough to you. 

Chr. Yes, over, and over, and over. They might also 
see my fears in my countenance, in my tears, and also 
in my trembling under the apprehension of the judg- 
ments that did hang over our heads ; but all was not 
eufficient to prevail with them to come with me. 

Char. But what could they say for themselves why 
they came not 1 

Chr. Why, my wife was afraid of losing this world; 
and my children were given to the foolish delights of 

* " Charity"— When a man knows the value of his own soul, he will 
become greatly eolicitons for the souls of others. It is, therefore, a very 
suspicious circumstance, when a professor shows no earnestness in per- 
suading those he loves best to seek salvation also ; and it is absurd to 
excuse this negligence by arguments taken from God's secret purposes, 
when these have no influence on the conduct of the same persons in their 
temporal concerns. Charity's discourse with Christian shows what our 
author thought to be the duties of believers in this most important concern, 
und what he understood to be the real reason* why carnal meu reject the 
Gospel. 



78 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

youth : so, what by one thing and what by another, 
they left me to wander in this manner alone. 

Char. But did you not with your vain life damp all 
that you by words used by way of persuasion to bring 
them away with you? 

Chr. Indeed I cannot commend my life, for I am 
conscious to myself of many failings therein : I know 
also, that a man by his conversation may soon over- 
throw what by argument or persuasion he doth labour 
to fasten upon others for their good. Yet this I can 
say, I was very weary of giving them occasion, by any 
unseemly action, to make them averse to going on pil- 
grimage. Yea, for this very thing they would tell me 
I was too precise ; and that I denied myself of things 
for their sakes, in which they saw no evil. Nay, 
I think I may say, that if what they saw in me did 
hinder them, it was my great tenderness in sinning 
against God, or of doing any wrong to my neighbour. 

Char. Indeed, Cain hated Ms brother, " because his 
own works were evil, and his brothers righteous,'' 
(1 John hi. 12 ;) and if thy wife and children have been 
offended with thee for this, they thereby show them- 
selves to be implacable to good ; and thou hast deli- 
vered thy soul from their blood, (Ezek. hi. 19.) 

Now I saw in my dream, that thus they sat talking 
together until supper* was ready. So when they had 
made ready, they sat down to meat. Now the table 
was furnished with fat things, and with wine that was 
well refined; and all their talk at the table was about 
the Lord of the hill : as, namely, about what he had 
done, and wherefore he did what he did, and why he 
had builded that house; and, by what they said, I 

* " Supper" — The administration of the Lord's supper is here emblema- 
tically described. In it the person, humiliation, sufferings, and death of 
Christ, with the motive and event of them, are kept in perpetual remem- 
brance. By seriously contemplating these interesting subjects, with the 
emblems of his body wounded, and his blood shed, before our eyes ; and 
by professing our cordial acceptance of his purchased salvation, and sur- 
render of ourselves to his service; we find every holy affection revived and 
invigorated, and our souls melted into deep repentance, inspired with calm 
confidence, animated to thankful, zealous, self-denying obedience, and 
softened into tender affection for our fellow Christians, with compassionate 
forgiving love of our most inveterate enemies. The believer will readily 
apply the allegorical representation of " the Lord of the hill," (Isa. xxv, 
£, 7,) to the love of Christ for lost sinners, which no words can adequately 
describe, for " it passetu knowledge." 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 79 

perceived that he had been a great warrior, and had 
fought with and slain him that had the power of death, 
(Heb. ii. 14, 15,) but not without great danger to him- 
self; which made me love him the more. 

For, as they said, and as I believe, said Christian, 
he did it with the loss of much blood. But that which 
put glory of grace into all he did was, that he did it 
out of pure love to his -country. And besides, there 
were some of them of the household that said they had 
been and spoke with him since he did die on the cross ; 
and they have attested, that they had it from his own 
lips, that he is such a lover of poor pilgrims, that the 
like is not to be found from the east to the west. 

They, moreover, gave an instance of wiiat they af- 
firmed, and that was, he had stripped himself of his 
glory that he might do this for the poor ; and 'that they 
heard him say and affirm, that he would not dwell in 
the mountain of Zion alone. They said, moreover, 
that he had made many pilgrims princes, though by 
nature they were beggars born, and their original had 
been the dunghill, (1 Sam. ii. 8; Ps. cxiii. 7.) 

Thus they discoursed together till late at night ; and 
after they had committed themselves to their Lord for 
protection, they betook themselves to rest. The pilgrim 
they laid in a large upper chamber, whose window 
opened towards the sun rising : the name of the cham- 
ber was Peace,* where he slept till break of day, and 
then he awoke and sang — 

Where am I now ! Is this the love and care 
Of Jesus, for the men that pilgrims are 
Thus to provide ! 'That I should be forgiven, 
And dwell already the next door to heaven ! 

So in the morning they all got up, and, after some 
more discourse, they told him that he should not de- 
part till they had shewed him the rarities of that place. 

* " Peace" — That peace of conscience and serenity of mind, which 
follow an humble upright profession of faith in Cinist. and communion 
with him and his people, is not the effect of a mere outward observance ; 
but of that inward disposition of the heart which is thus cultivated, and 
of the Lord's blessing on his own appointments. This is here repre- 
sented by the chamber Peace : it raises die soul above the care and bustle 
-of this vain world, and springs from the healing beams of the Suu of rigo- 
•leouscess. 



80T THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

And. first they had him into the study,* where they 
shewed him records of the greatest antiquity ; in which 
as- 1 remember in my dream, they showed him first, the 
pedigree of the Lord of the hill, that he was the Son of 
the Ancient-of-days, and came by that eternal genera- 
tion : here also were more fully recorded the acts that 
he had done, and the names of many hundreds that 
he had taken into his service ; and now he had placed 
them in such habitations that could neither by length 
of days, nor decays of nature, be dissolved. 

Then they read to him some of the worthy acts 
that some of his servants had done ; as how they had 
" subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained 
promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the 
violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out 
of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in 
fight, and turned to flight the armies of the aliens," 
(Heb. xi, 33, 34.) 

Then they read again in another part of the records 
of the house, where it was showed how willing the 
Lord was to receive into his favour any, even any, 
though they in time past had offered great affronts to 
Ms person and proceedings. Here also were several 
other histories of many other famous things, of all 
which Christian had a view, as of things both ancient 
and modern, together with prophecies and predictions 
of- things that have their certain accomplishment, 
both to the dread and amazement of enemies, and the 
comfort and solace of pilgrims. 

The next day they took him and had him into the 
armoury,! where they showed him all manner of 

* " Study"— Christian communion, properly conducted, tends to enlarge 
the believer's acquaintance with the Holy Scriptures ; and this conduces to 
the increase of faith, hope, love, patience, and fortitude: to animate the 
soul in emulating the illustrious examples there exhibited, and to furnish 
instruction for every good work. 

T " Armoury" — The provision which is made in Christ and his fulness, 
for maintaining and increasing, in the hearts of his people, those holy dispo- 
sitions and affections, by the vigorous exercise of which victory is obtained 
over all their enemies, is here represented by the armoury, (Eph. vi, 10 — 18 ; 
l.Thes. v, 6.) This suffices for all who seek to be supplied from it, how 
many soever they be. We ought, therefore. " to take to ourselves the whole 
armour of God," and "put it on," by diligently using all the means of 
grace ; and we may assist others by our exhortations, counsels, example, 
and prayers, in doing the same. The following allusions to the Scripture 
history, which have a peculiar propriety in an allegory, intimate, that ths 



"WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. fcl 

furniture which their Lord had provided for pilgrims, 
as sword, shield, helmet, breast-plate, all-prayer, and 
shoes that would not wear out. And there was here 
enough of this to harness out as many men, for the 
service of their Lord, as there be stars in the heaven 
for multitude. 

They also showed him some of the engines, with 
which some of his servants had done wonderful 
things. They showed him Moses' rod; the hammer 
and nail with which Jael slew Sisera ; the pitchers, 
trumpets, and lamps too, with which Gideon put to 
flight the armies of Midian. Then they showed him 
the ox's goad, wherewith Shamger slew six hundred 
men. They showed him also the jawbone with which 
Sampson did such mighty feats : they showed him 
moreover the sling and stone with winch David slew 
Goliah of Gath ; and the sword also with which their 
Lord will kill the man of sin, in the day that he shall 
rise up to the prey. They showed him besides many 
excellent things, with which Christian was much de- 
lighted. This done, they went to their rest again. 

Then I saw in my dream, that on the morrow he got 
up to go forwards, but they desired him to stay till the 
next day also ; and then, said they, we will, if the day 
be clear, show you the Delectable Mountains,* which, 
they said, would yet farther add to his comfort, be- 
cause they were nearer the desired haven than the 
place where at present he was ; so he consented and 
staid. When the morning was up, they had him to 
the top of the house, and bid him look south : so he 
did ; and behold, at a great distance, (Isa. xxxiii, 16, 
17,) he saw a most . pleasant mountainous country, 
beautified with woods, vineyards, fruits of all sorts, 
flowers also, with springs and fountains, very delect- 

means of grace are made effectual by the powe* of God, which we should 
depend on, in implicit obedience to his appointments. 

* " Mountains" — The delectable mountains, as seen at a distance, repre- 
sent those distinct views of the privileges and consolations attainable in this 
life, with which believer* are sometimes favoured, when attending on divine 
ordinances, or diligently making a subsequent improvement of them. The 
hopes thus inspired prepare them for meeting and pressing for ward through 
dangers and hardships; this is the pre-eminent advantage of Christian 
communion, and can only be enjoyed at some special seasons, when ihe 
fiun of righteousness shines upon the soul, 
4* 



ga THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

able to behold. Then he asked the name of the 
country. They said it was Emmanuel's Land; and 
it is as common, say they, as this hill is, to and 
for all the pilgrims. And when thou comest there, 
from thence thou mayest see to the gate of the Celes- 
tial City, as the shepherds that live there will make 
appear. 

Now he * bethought himself of setting forward, and 
they were willing he should. But first, said they, let 
us go again into the armoury. So they did ; and when 
he came there they harnessed him from head to foot 
with what was of proof, lest perhaps he should meet 
with assaults in the way. He being, therefore, thus 
accoutred, walked out with his friends to the gate, 
and there asked the porter if he saw any pilgrims 
pass by? Then the porter answered, Yes. 

Chr. Pray did you know him? 

Port. I asked his name, and he told me it was 
Faithful. 

O, said Christian, I know him ; he is my townsman, 
my near neighbour, he comes from the place where I 
was born : how far do you tliink he may be before ? 

Port. He is got by this time below the hill. 

Well, said Christian, good porter, the Lord be with 
thee, and add to all thy blessings much increase, for 
the kindnesses that thou hast showed to me. 

Then he began to go forward ; but Discretion, Piety, 
Charity, and Prudence, would accompany him downt 



• " Now he"— The ordinances of public or social worship are only the 
means of being religious, not the essence of religion itself. Having 
renewed our strengtiTby waiting on the Lord, we must go forward, by 
attending with increasing diligence to the duties of our several stations, 
and preparing to resist "temptations, which often assault us after special 
seasons of divine consolation. Ministers, therefore, and experienced be- 
laid warn young converts to expect trials and^ conflicts, and 
recommend to them such companions as may be a comfort and help in 
_:image. 

- ■• r> > vtr-'— The humiliation requisite for receiving Christ, obtaining 
peace, and making a eood confession of the faith, is general and indistinct, 
compared with that which subsequent trials and conflicts will produce ; and 
the Lord commonly dispenses comfort and humiliating experiences alter- 
nately, that the believer mav neither be elated nor depressed above measure, 
(I Cor. xii, 1—5 :) the valley of Humiliation, therefore, is very judiciously 
placed beyond the house Beautiful. Some explain it to signify a Chris- 
tkin's outward circumstances, when reduced to poverty, or subjected to 
great temporal fe« :;2 the Gospel ; and perhaps the author had 

this idea in his mind ; ye; i; could only be viewed as the means of producing 



WITH SCOTTS NOTES. 83 

to the foot of the hill. So they went on together, 
reiterating their former discourses, till they came to 
go down the hill. Then said Christian, As it was 
difficult coming up, so far as I can see, it is danger- 
ous going down. Yes, said Prudence, so it is ; for it 
is a hard matter for a man to go down into the valley 
of Humiliation, as thou art now, and to catch no slip 
by the way ; therefore, said they, are we come out to 
accompany thee down the hill. So he began to go 
down, but very warily, yet he caught a slip or two. 

Then I saw in my dream, that these good com- 
panions, when Christian was gone down to the bottom 
of the hill, gave him a loaf of bread, a bottle of wine, 
and a cluster of raisins ; and then he went on his way. 

But now, in this vaDey of Humiliation, poor Chris- 
tian was hard put to it ; for he had gone but a little 
way before he spied* a foul fiend coming over the 

inward humiliation. In going down into the valley, the believer will greatly 
need the assistance of discretion, piety, charity, and prudence, and the recol- 
lection of the instructions and counsels of such Christians as are eminent 
for these endowments : for humiliating dispensations and experiences excite 
the latent evils of the heart, and often cause men to speak and act unad- 
visedly ; so that, notwithstanding every precaution, the review will com- 
tionly discover many things, which demand the remorse and sorrow of 
deep repentance. 

* " Spied" — Under discouraging circumstances the believer will often be 
tempted to murmur, despond, or seek relief from the world. Finding that 
his too sanguine expectations are not answered, that he grows worse rather 
than better in his own opinion of himself, that his comforts are transitory, 
and that much reproach, contempt and loss, are incurred by his profes- 
sions of religion, discontent will often rise up in his heart, and weakness 
of faith will expose him to sharp conflicts. — Mr. Bunyan, having experi- 
enced, in an uncommon degree, the most dreadful temptations, was pro- 
bably led by that circumstance to speak on this subject in language not 
very intelligible to those who have been exempted from such painful exer- 
cises of mind. The nature of his work required, that they should be 
described under outward emblems; but the inward suggestions of evil 
spirits are especially intended. These seem to have peculiar access to the 
imagination, and are able to paint before that illusive faculty die most 
alluring or terrifying representations, as if they were realities. Apollyon 
signifies the destroyer, (Rev. ix, 11 ;) and in carrying on the work of 
destruction, fallen angels endeavour by various devices to deter men from 

?)rayer, and render them afraid of those things, without which the life of 
aith cannot be maintained ; in order that, after convictions, they may be 
led to give up religion as the only method of recovering composure of mind. 
Many, "having no root in themselves," thus gradually fall away; and 
others are greatly retarded : but the well instructed believer sees no safety, 
except in facing his enemy. If there appear to be danger in persevering, 
ruin is inevitable if he desist, (for Christian " had no armour for his back ;") 
even fear, therefore, will in that case induce a man to stand Ms ground, and 
the more resolutely he resists temptation, the sooner will he regain his tran- 
quility : for, when the suggestions of Satan excite us to pray more fervently. 
and to be more diligent in every service, that enemy will "flee from ue.' J 



64 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

field to meet him : his name is Apollyon. Then did 
Christian begin to be afraid, and to cast in his mind 
whether to go back or stand his ground. But he con- 
sidered again, that he had no armour for his back, and 
therefore thought that to turn the back to him might 
give him greater advantage with ease to pierce him 
with his darts ; therefore he resolved to venture, and 
stand his ground : for, thought he, had I no more in 
mine eye than the saving of my life, it would be the 
best way to stand. 

So he * went on, and Apollyon met him. Now the 
monster was hideous to behold : he was clothed with 

Perhaps some may remember a time when they were so harrassed as almost 
to despair of relief; who have since been so entirely delivered, that, were it 
not for the recollection of their own past experience, they would be ready 
to ascribe all such tilings to disease or enthusiasm, notwithstanding all that 
the Scripture contains on the subject. 

* " So he"— The description of Apollyon implies, that the combat after- 
wards recorded particularly represented the terrors by which evil spirits 
attempt to drive professors out of their path. Other temptations, though 
perhaps more dangerous, are not so distressing: "Satan can transform 
himself into an angel of light ;" and indeed he is a very Proteus, who can 
assume any form, as best suits his purpose. As all have been overcome by 
the temptations of the devil, and " of whom a man is overcome, of the 
same is he brought into bondage ;" so by usurpation, he is become the god 
and prince of this world, and we have all been his slaves. But believers, 
having been redeemed by the blood of Christ, " are made free from sin and 
become the servants of God :" and the abiding conviction, that all the sub- 
jects of sin. and Satan must perish, concurs with their experience of its 
hard bondage, in fortifying them against every temptation to return to it. 
Sensible of their obligations to God as then creator and governor, they 
have deeply repented of their past rebellions ; and, having obtained mercy, 
feel themselves bound by gratitude and die most solemn engagements to 
cleave to Mm and his service. Their difficulties and discouragements can- 
not induce them to believe that they " have changed for the worse ;" nor 
will they be influenced by the numbers who apostatize, from love to the 
world and dread of the cross ; tor they are " rooted and grounded in love," 
and not merely moved by fears and hopes. They are sure that the Lord is 
able to deliver them from their enemies ; and should the wicked be permitted 
to prosper in their malicious devices, they know enough of his plan, to rely 
on his wisdom, truth, and love, in the midst of sufferings. Thus they hava 
answers ready tor every suggestion ; even such answers as Christian had 
been furnished with at the house of the Interpreter. If such temptations 
.prove ineffectual, Satan mil perhaps assault the believer, by representing 
to his mind, with every possible aggravation, the several instances of his 
misconduct, since he professed the Gospel, in order to heighten his appre- 
hensions of being found at last a hypocrite : when the soul is discouraged 
and gloomy, lie will be assiduous in representing every false step to be a 
horrid crime inconsistent with a state of grace, as he is at other times in 
persuading men, that the most flagrant violations of the divine law ara 
mere trifles. In repelling such suggestions, the well-instructed believer will 
neither deny the charge, nor extenuate his guilt ; but he will flee for refuge 
to the free grace of the Gospel, and take comfort from the consciousness 
that he now hates and groans under the remains of those evils, which once 
he wholly lived in without remorse ; thence inferring, that " his sins, 
though many, are forgiven." 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 85 

scales like a fish, (and they are his pride ;) he had 
wings like a drag-on, feet like a bear, and out of his 
belly came fire and smoke, and his mouth was as the 
mouth of a lion. When he was come up to Christian, 
he beheld him with a disdainful countenance, and thus 
began to question with him. 

Apol. Whence came you? and whither are you 
bound ? 

Chr. I am come from the city of Destruction, which 
is the place of all evil, and am going to the city of 
Zion. 

Apol. By this I perceive thou art one of my subjects ; 
for all that country is mine, and I am the prince and 
god of it. How is it then that thou hast run away 
from thy king? Were it not for that I hope thou 
mayest do me more service, I would strike thee now, 
at one blow, to the ground. 

Chr. I was born indeed in your dominions, but your 
service was hard, and your wages such as a man 
could not live on, "for the wages of sin is death," 
(Rom. vi, 23 ;) therefore, when I was come to years, I 
did, as other considerate persons do, look out if per- 
haps I might mend myself. 

Apol. There is no prince that will thus lightly lose 
his subjects, neither will I as yet lose thee ; but since- 
thou complainest of thy service and wages, be content 
to go back : what our country will afford, I do here 
promise to give thee. 

Chr. But 1 have let myself to another, even to the 
king of princes ; and how can I with fairness go back 
with thee 1 

Apol. Thou hast done in this according to the pro- 
verb, " Change a bad for a worse ;" but it is ordinary 
for those that have professed themselves his servants 
after awhile to give him the slip, and return again to 
me. Do thou so too, and all shall be well. 

Chr. I have given him my faith, and sworn my alle- 
giance to him : how then can I go back from this, and 
not be hanged as a traitor ? 

Apol. Thou didst the same to me, and yet I am will- 
ing to pass by all, if now thou wilt yet turn again and 
go back. 



86 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Chr. What I promised thee was in my nonage ; and 
besides, I count that the prince, under whose banner 
now I stand, is able to absolve me ; yea, and to pardon 
also what I did as to my compliance with thee : and, 
besides, thou destroying Apollyon, to speak truth, I 
like his service, his wages, his servants, his govern- 
ment, his company, and country, better than thine ; 
and therefore leave off to persuade me farther : I am 
his servant, and I will follow him. 

Apol. Consider again, when thou art in cool blood, 
what thou art like to meet with in the way that thou 
goest. Thou knowest that, for the most part, his ser- 
vants come to an ill end, because they are transgres- 
sors against me and my waj-s. How many of them 
have been put to shameful deaths ! And besides, thou 
countest his service better than mine, whereas he 
never came yet from the place where he is to deliver 
any that served him out of their hands ; but, as for 
me, hew many times, as all the world very well 
knows, have I delivered, either by power or fraud, 
those that have faithfully served me, from him and his, 
though taken by them : and so I will deliver thee. 

Chr. His forbearing at present to deliver them is on 
purpose to try their love, whether they will cleave to 
him to the end ; and, as for the ill end thou sayest they 
come to, that is most glorious in their account : for 
present deliverance, they do not much expect it ; for 
they stay for their glory, and then they shall have 
it, when their Prince comes in his and the glory of the 
angels. 

Apol. Thou hast already been unfaithful in thy ser- 
vice to him ; and how dost thou think to receive wages 
of him ? 

Chr. Wherein, Apollyon, have I been unfaithful to 
him? 

Apol. Thou didst faint at first setting out, when thou 
wast almost choked in the gulf of Despond ; thou didst 
attempt wrong ways to be rid of thy burthen, whereas 
thou shouldest have stayed till thy Prince had taken 
it off; thou didst sinfully sleep, and lose thy choice 
things ; thou wast also almost persuaded to go back 
at the sight of the lions ; and when thou talkest of thy 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 87 

journey, and of what thou hast heard and seen, thou 
art inwardly desirous of vain-glory in all that thou 
gayest or doest. 

Chr. All this is true, and much more which thou 
hast left out ; but the prince, whom I serve and 
honour, is merciful and ready to forgive. But besides, 
these infirmities possessed me in thy country ; for 
there I sucked them in, and I have groaned under 
them, been sorry for them, and have obtained pardon 
of my prince. 

Then Apollyon broke out into a grievous rage,* say- 
ing, I am an enemy to this prince ; I hate his person, 
his laws, and people ; I am come out on purpose to 
withstand thee. 

* u Rage" — Thus far Christian's contest with Apollyon is intelligible and 
instructive to every experienced believer ; what follows is more difficult. 
But if we duly reflect upon the Lord's permission to Satan, in respect of 
Job, with the efforts and effects that followed ; and if we compare it with 
the tempter's desire of sifting Peter and the other apostles as wheat— we 
shall not be greatly at a loss about our author's meaning. This enemy is 
sometimes gratified with such an arrangement of outward dispensations 
as most favours his assaults : so that the believer's path seems to be wholly 
obstructed. The Lord himself appears to harve forsaken him, or even to 
fight against him ; and his appointments are deemed contrary to his pro- 
mises. This gives Satan an opportunity of suggesting hard thoughts of 
God and his ways, doubts about the truth of the Scriptures, and desponding 
fears of a fatal event to a self-denying course of religion. Many such 
u fiery darts" may be repelled or quenched by the shield of faith ; but there 
are seasons (as some of us well know) when they are poured hi so inces- 
santly, and receive such plausibility from facts, and when they so interrupt 
a man while praying, reading, or meditating, that he is tempted to intermit 
religious duties, to avoid their horrid concomitants. The evils of the heart, 
which seemed before to be subdued, are at these times so excited by means 
of he imagination, that they apparently prevail more than ever, rendering 
every service an abomination, as well as a burthen ; so that the harrassed 
soulj alarmed, baffled, defiled, self-detested, and thinking- that God and his 
(servants unite in abhorring him, is ready to give up all hope, to doubt all 
his former principles, to seek refuge in some heretical or antinorniaa system, 
or to attempt the dissipation of his melancholy gloom, by joining again in 
the vanities of the world. Thus the enemy "wounds him in his under- 
standing, faith, and conversation" (according to the author's marginal 
interpretation of his meaning,) yet he cannot find relief in this manner ; 
but is inwardly constrained, with renewed efforts, to return to the conflict 
But when such temptations are long continued, resistance will gradually 
become more feeble ; the distressed believer will be ready to give up every- 
thing ; and, when the enemy plies him closely with infidel suggestions, to 
which his circumstances give a specious occasion, he may be thrown down, 
and " his sword may fly out of liis hand :" so that for a time he may be 
unable to give any credit to the truth of the Scriptures, by which alone he 
was before enabled to repel the tempter. This is a dreadful case : and could 
true faith dius finally and entirely fail, even real Christians must perish. 
Satan hath succeeded against many professors, with half these advantages ; 
and he may be supposed, at least, to boast that he is sure of such as are 
thus cast down. But the advocate above " prays" for his disciples, " that 
their faith should not fail," (Luka xxii, 31, 32.) So that, though Peter fell 



88 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 

Chr. Apollyon, beware what you do, for I am in the 

Ring's highway, the. way of holiness ; therefore take 
heed to yourself. 

Then Apollyon straddled quite over the whole breadth 
of the way, and said I am void of fear in this matter ; 
prepare thyself to die ; for I swear by my infernal den, 
that thou shalt go no farther : here will I spill thy soul. 

And with that he threw a flaming dart at his breast ; 
but Christian had a shield' in his hand, with which he 
caught it, and so prevented the danger of that. 

Then did Christian draw, for he saw it was time to 
bestir him; and Apollyon as fast made at him, thro wing- 
darts as thick as hail ; by the which, notwithstanding 
all that Christian could do to avoid it, Apollyon wound- 
ed him in his head, his hand, and foot. This made 
Christian give a little back : Apollyon, therefore, fol- 
lowed his work amain, and Christian again took corn-age 

with Judas, he Was not left to perish with him. The Christian, therefore, 
though " almost pressed to death," and ready " to despair of life," will, by 
the special grace of God, be helped asain to seize his sword, and to use 
it with more effect than ever. The Holy .Spirit will bring to his mind, 
widi die most convincing energy, the evidences of the divine inspiration 
of the Scripture, and enable him To rely on the promises : and thus, at length, 
the enemy will be put to flight, by testimonies of holy writ pertinently 
adduced, and more clearly understood tiian before. Experience will teach 
same readers to understand diese things, and they will know how to com- 
passionate and make allowances for the mistakes of the tempted : and otiiers, 
who have been graciously exempted from, perhaps, the deepest anguish 
known on earth (though commonly not of long duration,) should learn 
from the testimony of then brethren, to allow the reality of diese distresses, 
and sympathize with the sufferers ; and not (like Job's friends) to join with 
Satan in aggravating then sorrows. We may allow, that constitution, 
partial disease, and errors in judgment, expose some men more than others 
to each assaults ; yet these are only occasions, and evil spirits are assuredly 
the agents in thus harrassing serious persons. It is indeed of the greatest 
importance to be well established in the faidi : they, who in ordinary cases 
are satisfied with general convictions and comfortable feelings, without 
Deing able to give a reason for then hope, may be driven to die most tre- 
mendous extremities, should God permit them to be thus assaulted : for 
they have no fixed principles to which they may resort in such an emer- 
gency; and perhaps some degree of mistake always gives Satan his prin- 
cipal advantage on these occasions. Yet men of die most sober minds and 
sound judgment, when in a better state of bodily health than usual, and 
in all odier respects most rational, have experienced such distressing; 
temptations of diis kind, as they coidd scarcely have believed on die report 
of others ; and, when delivered, they cannot look back on the past without 
the greatest consternation. Besides die verses, by which Christian gave 
thanks to his great deliverer, we meet in die old copies with these lines >— - 

" A more unequal match can hardly be, 
Cliristian must light an angel ; but, you see, 
The valiant man, by handling sword and shield, 
Doth make him, though a dragon, quit the field. » 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 89 

and resisted as manfully as he could. This sore com 
bat lasted for above half a day, even till Christian was 
almost quite spent ; for you must know, that Christian 
Dy reason of his wounds, must needs grow weaker and 
weaker. 

Then Apollyon, spying his opportunity, began to ga- 
ther up close to Christian, and wrestling with him, gave 
him a dreadful fall : and with that Christian's sword 
flew out of his hand. Then said Apollyon, I am sure of 
thee now ; and with that he had almost pressed him to 
death, so that Christian began to despair of life. But, 
as God would have it, while Apollyon was fetching his 
last blow, thereby to make a full end of this good man, 
Christian nimbly stretched out his hand for his sword, 
and caught it, saying, " Rejoice not against me, O mine 
enemy ! when I fall, I shall arise," (Mic. vii, 8 ;) and 
with that gave him a deadly thrust, which made him 
give back, as one that had received his mortal wound. 
Christian perceiving that, made at him again, saying, 
" Nay, in all these things we are more than conquer- 
ors, through him that loved us," (Rom. viii, 37 — 39 ; 
Jam. iv, 7 ;) and with that Apollyon spread forth his 
dragon's wings and sped him away, that Christian saw 
him no more. 

In this combat no man can imagine, unless he had 
seen and heard, as I did, what yelling and hideous 
roaring Apollyon made all the time of the fight ; he 
spake like a dragon : and, on the other side, what sighs 
and groans burst from Christian's heart. I never saw 
him all the while give so much as one pleasant look, till 
he perceived he had wounded Apollyon with his two- 
edged sword ; then indeed he did smile and look up- 
ward ! But it was the dreadfulest fight that ever I saw. 

So when the battle was over, Christian said, I will 
here give thanks to him that hath delivered me out of 
the mouth of the lion, to him that did help me against 
Apollyon. And so he did, saying, 

Great Beelzebub, the captain of this fiend, 
Design'd my ruin ; therefore to this end 
He sent him harness'd out ; and he with rage 
That hellish was did fiercely me engage : 



90 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

But blessed Michael helped me, and I 
By dint of sword did quickly make him fly r 
Therefore to him let me give lasting praise 
And thanks, and bless his holy name always. 

Then there came to him a hand * with some of the 
leaves of the tree of life, the which Christian took and 
applied to the wounds that he had received in the bat- 
tle, and was healed immediately. He also sat down 
in that place to eat bread, and to drink of that bottle- 
that was given him a little before : so being refreshed, 
he addressed himself to his journey with his sword 
drawn in his hand; for he said, I know not but some 
other enemy may be at hand. But he met with no 
other affront from Apollyon quite through the valley. 

Now at the end of tins valley was another, called the 
valley t of the Shadow of Death, and Christian must 

* "A hand" — When the believer has obtained the victory over tempta- 
tion, the Lord will graciously heal all the wounds he received in the con- 
flict ; pardoning his sins, rectifying his mistakes, and renewing his strength- 
and comfort, through the mediation of Christ, and by the influences of die 
Holy Spirit : so that the most distressing experiences are often succeeded 
by the sweetest confidence and serenity of mind, and the greatest alacrity 
in the ways of God. " The leaves of the tree of life," (Rev. xxii, 2.) 
represent the present benefits of the redemption of Christ: "the hand" 
may be the emblem of those whom the Lord employs, as instruments in 
restoring to his discouraged servants "the joy of his salvation." The 
believer thus healed and refreshed by meditation on the death of Christ, 
and other religious exercises, rests not in one victory, but presses forward, 
prepared for new conflicts; yet the enemy, once decidedly put to flight, 
seldom repeats the same assaults, at least for some tune ; because he will 
generally find die victor upon his guard on that side, though he may be 
surprised in some other way. 

t " The valley" — The valley of the Shadow of Death seems intended to 
represent a variation of inward distress, conflict, and alarm, which arise 
from prevailing darkness and insensibility of mind, rendering a man reluc- 
tant to religious dudes, and dull in the performance of them" which makes 
way for manifold apprehensions and temptations. The words quoted from 
the prophet, describe the waste howling wilderness through which Israel 
journeyed to Canaan; which typified the believer's pilgrimage through 
this world to heaven. From this we may infer, that die audior meant In 
general, diat such dreary seasons may be expected, as very few believers 
wholly escape them : but we must not suppose, that lie intended to convey 
an idea diat all experience diese trials in the same order or degree as Chris- 
tian did. While men rest in forms and notions, they generally expect 
nothing in religious ordinances but to finish a task, and to enjoy the satis- 
faction of having done their supposed duty ; but the spiritual worshipper, 
at some times, finds his soul filled with clear light and holy affection ; " it 
is good for lum to draw nigh to God ;" and " his soul is satisfied as with 
marrow and fatness, while he praises his God with joyful lips :" at other 
times, dulness and heaviness oppress him ; he feels little exercise of faith, 
hope, desire, reverence, love, or gratitude ; he seems to address an unknown 
or absent God, and rather to mock than to worslup him ; divine things 
pppear obscure and almost unreal ; and every returning season of devotion^ 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 91 

Reeds go through it, because the way to the Celestial 
City lay through the midst of it. Now this valley is a 
very solitary place. The prophet Jeremiah thus de- 
scribes it : "A wilderness, a land of deserts and of pits ; 
a land of drought, and of the shadow of death ; a land 
that no man," but a Christian, " passeth through, and 
where no man dwelt," (Jer. ii. 6.) 

Now here Christian was worse put to it than in his 
fight with Apollyon ; as by the sequel you shall see. 

I saw then in my dream, that when Christian was 
got on the borders of the Shadow of Death, there met 
him two men, * children of them that brought up an 
evil report of the good land, (Numb, xiii,) making 
haste to go back; to whom Christian spake as fol- 
lows : — 

Whither are you going? 

or reiterated effort to lift up his heart to God, ends in disappointment ; so 
that religion becomes his burthen instead of his delight. Evils before unno- 
ticed are now perceived to mingle with his services ; for his self-knowledge 
is advanced ; his remedy seems to increase his disease ; he suspects that all 
his former joy was a delusion, and is ready to conclude, that " God hath 
forgotten to be gracious, and hath shut up his loving-kindness in displea- 
sure." These "experiences, sufficiently painful in themselves, are often 
•rendered more distressing, by erroneous expectations of 'uninterrupted 
comfort, or by reading books, or hearkening to instructions, which state 
things unscripturally : representing comfort as the evidence of acceptance, 
assurance as the essence of faith, impressions or visions as the witness of 
the Spirit ; or perfection as attainable in this life, nay, actually attained by 
all the regenerate ; as if this were the church triumphant, and not the 
church militant. The state of the body also, as disordered by nervous or 
hypochondriacal affections, gives energy to the distressing inferences which 
men often draw from their dark frame of mind ; and indeed indisposition 
may often operate as a direct cause of it ; though the influences of the 
Holy Spirit will overcome this, and all other impediments to comfort, when 
" he sheds abroad the love of God in the heart." Evil spirits never fail, 
when permitted, to take advantage of a disordered state, whether of body 
or mind, to mislead, entangle, perplex, or defile the soul. Persons of 
a melancholic temperature, when not aware of the particular causes 
whence their gloom originates, are apt to describe it wholly to desertion, 
which exceedingly enhances their distress ; and, as our author had been 
greatly harrassed in this way, he has given us a larger proportion of this shade 
than is generally met with by consistent believers, or than the Scriptures 
give us reason to expect : and probably he meant to state the oudines of 
his own experience in the pilprimage of Christian. 

* " Two men" — These men were spies, not pilgrims: they related what 
they had observed at a distance, but had never experienced. They repre- 
sent those who have been conversant with godly people ; and " bring an 
evil report on the good land," to prejudice the minds of numbers against 
the right ways of the Lord. Such men pretend to have made trial of reli- 
gion, and found it to be a comfortless and dreary pursuit ; they give a 
caricatured description of the sighs, groans, terrors, and distresses of pioti3 
persons, and of all the dreadful things to be seen and heard among them : 
they avail themselves of every unguarded or hyperbolical expression, which 
escapes a tempted believer ; of the enthusiastic representations which soma 



92 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

They said, Back ! back ! and we would have you to 
do so too, if either life or peace is prized by you. 

Why, what's the matter ? said Christian. 

Matter ! said they, we were going that way as you 
are going, and went as far as we durst ; and indeed we 
were almost past coming back ; for had we gone a lit- 
tle farther we had not been here to bring the news to 
thee. 

But what have you met with? said Christian. 

Men. Why we were almost in the valley of the Sha- 
dow of Death, (Ps. xliv, 19,) but that by good hap we 
looked before us, and saw the danger before we came 
to it. 

But what have you seen 1 said Christian. 

Men. Seen! why the valley itself, which is as dark 
as pitch ; we also saw there the hobgoblins, satyrs, and 
dragons of the pit ; we heard also in that valley a con- 
tinual howling and yelling, as of people under unutter- 
able misery, who there sat bound in affliction andirons ; 
and over that valley hang the discouraging clouds of 
confusion: death also doth always spread his wings 
over it, (Job. iii, 5 ; x, 22.) In a word, it is every whit 
dreadful, being utterly without order. 

Then said Christian, I perceive not yet, by what you 
have said, but that this is my way to the desired haven. 

Men. Be it thy way; we will not choose it for ours. 

So they parted ; and Christian went on his way, but 
still with his sword drawn in his hand, for fear lest he 
should be assaulted. 

I saw then in my dream, so far as this valley reached 
there was on the right hand a very deep ditch;* that 

people give of their experience ; and even of the figurative language, which 
is often employed in speaking of inward conflicts under images taken from 
external dungs. Thus they endeavour to excuse dieir own apostacy, and 
to expose to contempt the cause which they h»ve deserted. Nothing they 
can say, however, concerning die disorder or confusion to which religion 
may sometimes give occasion, can induce the believer to conclude that he 
has mistaken his way, or that it would be advisable for him to turn back, 
or deviate into any bye-path: diough they will excite him to vigilance 
and circumspection. As those spies' do so much mischief by their mis- 
representations, we should be careful to give them as little occasion as we 
possibly can. 

* " Deep ditch" — The fatal presumption into which men are soothed, 
through ignorance and various kinds of false doctrine, so that they conclude 
themselves safe without any warrant from Scripture, is intended by the 
" deep ditch," into which " the blind lead the blind and perish with them.." 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 93 

ditch is it into which the blind hath led the blind in 
all ages, and have both there miserably perished. 
Again, behold, on the left hand there was a very dan- 
gerous quag, into which if even a good man falls he 
finds no bottom for his foot to stand on : into this quag 
king David once did fall, and had, no doubt, therein 
been smothered, had not he that is able plucked him 
out, (Ps. box, 14.) 

The pathway was here also exceeding narrow, and 
therefore good Christian was the more put to it; for 

This is often done by men who reciprocally criminate and despise each 
other. " The dangerous quag," on the other side of the "narrow way, 
represents the opposite extreme — despair of God's mercy ; and the mire of 
it agrees with that of the slough of Despond. In diese opposite ways mul- 
titudes continually perish ; some concluding that diere is no fear, odiers 
that there is no hope. But the danger to which a real believer is exposed, 
of verging towards one of these extremes in times of inward darkness and 
disconsolation, is especially implied. They, who have had much oppor- 
tunity of conversing with professors of the Gospel, have met with many 
persons who once were zealous and comfortable, but their religious affec- 
tions have declined ; their duties are comparatively scanty, formal, and 
joyless ; their walk unsteady, and their hearts dark, cold, and barren ; 
they call themselves backsliders and complain of desertion, yet they have 
no hearts to use proper means of revival, but love to be soothed in their 

E resent condition ; and quiet themselves by presuming that they are true 
elievers, and abusing the doctrine of final perseverance. Many of this 
cast are wholly deceived ; others partially, and will be recovered by severe 
but salutary rebukes and chastenings. Even the consistent well-instructed 
Christian, when greatly discouraged, may be powerfully tempted to seek 
peace of mind, by arguing with himself on the safety of his state, or trying 
to be satisfied without his former spiritual affections and holy consolations: 
and Satan will find prompters to suggest to him, that this is the case of all 
experienced believers, and that fervency of love belongs only to young 
converts, who are strangers to their own hearts. This is the more plausible, 
because the 'increase of sound judgment and abiding spiritual affections 
abates that earnestness (often indiscreet and disproportioned,) which sprang 
from mere selfish principles : and, when religious profession is cheap ana 
common, many retain it, who have scarce any appearance of spirituality, 
and who infect others with their contagious converse and example. But 
while the conscientious believer, amidst his deepest discouragements, dreads 
and shuns this presumption, he is liable to sink into despondency ; andmay 
be led to condemn all his past experience as unreal ; to rank himself among 
stony-ground hearers : to conclude that it is useless for him to pray or seek 
any more ; and to lie down in enfeebling dejection. Again, perceiving this 
danger, he finds it very difficult, in the present dark state of his soul, to 
avoid it, without seeming to abuse the free grace of the Gospel. This expe- 
rience must create much disu'ess, perplexity, and confusion; and make 
way for many dark and terrifying temptation's ; so that, though a man be 
not harrassed widi doubts about the truth of the Scriptures, he will be unable 
to make much use of diem for his direction and comfort ; and earnest instant 
prayer must be liis only resource. Cases sometimes occur, in which, through 
a concurrence of circumstances, this alarming and perplexing experience 
continues and increases for some time s but the true Christian will be, as it 
were, constrained to press forward, and by faidi will at length put his 
enemies to flight. Some have thought, diat the general notions of 
apparitions may be alluded to, as giving die tempter an occasion of 
increasing the terror of such persons as are in that respect credulous and 

tkaUKOUEk 



M THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

when he sought in the dark to shun the ditch on the* 
one hand, he was ready to tip over into the mire on the 
other ; also when he sought to escape the mire, without 
great carefulness he would be ready to fall into the 
ditch. Thus he went on, and I heard him here sigh 
bitterly ; for besides the danger mentioned above, the 
pathway was here so dark, that oft-times when he 
lifted up his foot to go forward, he knew not where, 
nor upon what, he should set it next. 

About the midst of the valley, I perceived the mouth 
of hell to be, and it stood also hard by the way-side ; 
now, thought Christian, what shall I do 1 and ever and 
anon the flame and smoke would come out in such 
abundance, with sparks and hideous noises (things that 
cared not for Christian's sword, as did Apollyon be- 
fore.) that he was forced to put up his sword, and be- 
take himself to another weapon, called all-prayer ; so 
he cried, in my hearing, " O Lord, I beseech thee, de- 
liver my soul," (Ps. cxvi, 4. Ephes. vi, 18.) Thus he 
went on a great while, yet still the flames would be 
reaching towards him; also he heard doleful voices, 
and rushing to and fro, so that sometimes he thought 
lie should be torn in pieces, or trodden down like mire 
in the streets. This frightful sight was seen, and these 
dreadful noises were heard by him for several miles 
together ; and coming to a place where he thought he 
heard a company of fiends coming forward to meet 
him, he stopt, and began to muse what he had best to 
do : sometimes he had half a thought to go back ; then 
again he thought he might be half way through the val- 
ley; he remembered also how he had already van- 
quished many a danger ; and that the danger of going 
back might be much more than for to go forward. So 
he resolved to go on ; yet the fiends seemed to come 
nearer and nearer : but when they were come even al- 
most at him, he cried out with a most vehement voice ; 
" I will walk in the strength of the Lord God ;" so they 
gave back and came no farther. 

One thing * I would not let slip : I took notice, that 

• " One thing" — The case here intended is not uncommon among con- 
scientious persons under urgent temptations. Imaginations are suddenly 
excitid in their minds, with which their previous thoughts had no comiex* 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 95 

how poor Christian was so confounded that he did not 
know his own voice ; and thus I perceived it : just 
when he was coming over against the mouth of the 
burning pit, one of the wicked ones got behind him, 
and stepped up softly to him, and whisperingly sug- 
gested many grievous blasphemies to him, which he 
verily thought had proceeded from his own mind. 
This put Christian more to it than any thing that he 
met with before, even to think that he should now 
blaspheme him that he loved so much before ; yet if 
he could have helped it he would not have done it : 
but he had not the discretion either to stop his ears, 
or to know from whence those blasphemies came. 

When Christian had travelled in this disconsolate 
condition some considerable time, he thought he heard 
the voice * of a man, as going before him, saying, 
" though I walk through the valley of the shadow of 

ion, even as if words were spoken to them : these often imply hard censures 
of God, his service or decrees, which they abhor as direct blasphemy ; or 
harrass them with other hateful ideas: yet, instead of considering that such 
suggestions distress them, in exact proportion as they are opposite to the 
prevailing disposition of their hearts, and that their dread and hatred of 
them are evidences of love to God, they consider them as unpardonably 
criminal, inconsistent with a state of grace, and a mark of final reproba- 
tion. Whereas, had such things coincided with die state of their minds, 
they would have been defiling but not distressing ; and instead of rejecting 
them at once with decided abhorrence, tiiey would have given them enter- 
tainment, and employed their minds about them, as much as they dared: 
"for the carnal mind is enmity against God," and can only be deterred 
from blasphemy, on many occasions, by the dread of his vengeance. Our 
author had been so much baffled by this stratagem of the tempter, that it 
would have been extraordinary had he omitted it: for the subsequent dis- 
covery he made of his mistake, and of the way of resisting the devil in this 
case, qualified him to give stumble cautions to others. The intrusion of 
such thoughts should excite us to greater earnestness in prayer, pious medi- 
tations, or adoring praises ; for this, above all other things, will in the event 
be found to close the mind most effectually against them. — The following 
lines come in here, as before — 

" Poor man ! where art thou now? thy day is night: 
Good man, be not cast down, thou yet art right. 
The way to heav'n lies by the gates of hell : 
Cheer up, hold out, with thee it shall go well." 

* " The voice"— Nothing more effectually supports the tempted than to 
learn that others, whom they consider as believers, have been or are in 
similar circumstances : for the idea, that such a state of mind as they expe 
rience is inconsistent with true faith, gives the enemy his principal advan 
tage against them. Indeed this often proves the means of their deliverance ■ 
for in due season that light, affection, and consolation, for which they havr 
long mourned, Uiirsted, prayed, and waited, will be vouchsafed them; and 
the "review of the dangers they had escaped, now more clearly discerned 
than before, will enlarge their hearts with adrniring gratitude to their grea* 
and gracious deliverer. 



96 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

death I will fear no ill, for thou art with me," (Ps- 
xxiii. 4.) 

Then was he glad, and that for these reasons : First, 
Because he gathered from thence, that some who 
feared God were in this valley as well as himself: 
Secondly, For that he perceived God was with them, 
though in that dark and dismal state ; and why not, 
thought he, with me ? though by reason of the impedi- 
ment that attends this place I cannot perceive it, (Job 
ix, 11.) Thirdly, For that he hoped (could he overtake 
them,) to have company by and by. So he went on, 
and called to him that was before ; but he knew not 
what to answer, for that he also thought himself to 
be alone. And by-and-bye the day broke : then said 
Christian, he hath " turned the shadow of death into 
the morning," (Amos v, 8.) 

Now morning being come he looked back, not out 
of desire to return, but to see by the light of the day 
what hazards he had gone through in the dark : so he 
saw more perfectly the ditch that was on the one 
hand, and the quag that was on the other ; also how 
narrow- the way was which led betwixt them both ; 
also now he saw the hobgoblins, and satyrs, and 
dragons of the pit, but all afar off, for after break of 
the day they came not nigh; yet they were discovered 
to him, according to that which is written, " He dis- 
covered deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out 
to light the shadow of death," (Job xii, 22.) 

Now was Christian much affected with his deliver- 
ance from all the dangers of his solitary way ; which 
dangers, though he feared them more before, yet he 
saw them more clearly now, because the light of tfte 
day made them conspicuous to him. And about this 
time the sun was rising, and this was another mercy 
to Christian; for you must note, that though the first 
part of the valley of the Shadow of Death was dan- 
gerous, yet this second part,* which he was yet to go, 

* " Second part" — Various interpretations are given of this second part 
of the valley, which only show, that the author's precise idea in it lies mora 
remote from general apprehension than in other passages : for they all 
coincide with some of the difficulties or dangers that are clearly described 
under other emblems. I would not indeed be too confident, but, I appre- 
hend, in general we are taught by it, that believers are not most in danger 
wheo under the deepest distress; that the soaree and devices of the eoemy 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES* 07 

was, if possible, far more dangerous : for, from the 
place where he now stood even to the end of the 
valley, the way was all along set full of snares, traps, 
gins, and nets, here, and so full of pits, pitfalls, deep 
holes, and shelvings down, there, that had it been 
dark, as it was when he came the first part of the 
way, had he had a thousand souls they had in reason 
been castaway: but as I said just now the sun was 
rising. Then said he, "his candle shineth on my head, 
and by his light I go through darkness," (Job xxix, 3.) 

In this light, therefore, he came to the end of the 
valley. Now I saw in my dream, that at the end of 
this valley lay blood, bones, ashes, and mangled bodies 
of men, even of pilgrims that had gone this way for- 
merly : and while I was musing what should be the 
reason, I spied a little before me a cave, where two 
giants, Pope * and Pagan, dwelt in old time ; by whose 
power and tyranny the men, whose bones, blood, 
ashes, &c, lay there, were cruelly put to death. But 
by this place Christian went without much danger, 
whereat I somewhat wondered : but I have learnt 
since, that Pagan has been dead many a day ; and, as 
for the other, though he be yet alive, he is by reason of 
^ge, and also of the many shrewd brushes that he met 
with in his younger days, grown so crazy and stiff in 
his joints, that he now can do little more than sit in 
his cave's mouth, grinning at pilgrims as they go by, 
and biting his nails because he cannot come at them. 

So I saw that Christian went on his way ; yet, at 
the sight of the old man, that sat in the mouth of the 
cave, he could not tell what to think ; especially be- 

axe so many and various, through the several stages of our pilgrimage, a9 
to baffle all description or enumeration ; and that all the emblems of the 
valley of humiliation, and of the shadow of death, could not fully represent 
the thousandth part of them. Were it not, therefore, that the Lord under- 
takes to guide his people by the light of his word and Spirit, they never 
could possibly escape them all. 

* " Pope" — The inhabitants of Britain are not thought to be in any imme- 
diate danger, either from Pope or Pagan. Yet something very like the 
philosophical part of paganism seems to be rising from the dead, -while 
popery grows more infirm than ever : and as, even by the confession of 
the late king of Prussia, who was a steady friend to the philosopliical 
infidels, they "are by no means favourable to general toleration," it ia 
not improbable but pagan persecution may also in due time revive. Our 
author, however, has described no other persecution than what Protestants 
in bis time carried on against one another with very great alacrity. 



OS THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

cause he spake to him, though he could not go after 
him, saying, " You will never mend till more of you 
be burned." But he held his peace, and set a good 
face on it, and so went by and catched no hurt. Then 
sang Christian, 

O world of wonders ! (I can say no less) 

That I should be preserved in that distress 

That I have met with here ! O blessed be 

That hand that from it hath delivered me ! 

Dangers in darkness, devils, hell, and sin, 

Did compass me while I this vale was in ; 

Yea, snares, and pits, and traps, and nets did lie 

My path about, that worthless silly I 

Might haA'e been catch'd, entangled, and cast down: 

But since I live let Jesus wear the crown. 

Now as Christian went on his way he came to a 
little ascent,* which was up-cast on purpose that pil- 
grims might see before them. Up there, therefore, 
Christian went ; and looking forward he saw Faithful 
before him upon his journey. Then said Christian, 
aloud, " Ho ho ! so ho ! stay, and I will be your com- 
panion." At that Faithful looked behind him, to 
whom Christian cried, " Stay, stay, till J come to 
you ;" but Faithful answered, " No, I am upon my 
life, and the avenger of blood is behind me." 

At this Christian was somewhat moved, and putting 
to all his strength he quickly got up with Faithful, and 
did also overrun him ; so the last was first. Then did 
Christian vain-gloriously smile, because he had gotten 
the start of his brother : but not taking good heed to 
his feet he suddenly stumbled and fell, and could not 
rise again until Faithful came up to help him. 

* " Ascent" — This may represent those moments of encouragement, in 
which tempted believers rise superior to their difficulties ; and are animated 
to desire the company of dieir brethren, whom dejection under humiliating 
experiences disposes them to shun. The conduct of Christian intimates, 
that believers are sometimes ready to hinder one another, by making their 
own attainments and progress a standard for their brethren ; but the lively 
exercise of faith renders men intent on pressing forward, and more apt to 
fear die society of such as would influence them to loiter, than to stop for 
them. This tends to excite an useful emulation ; but while it promotes 
diligence, it often gives occasion to those risings of vain-glory and self- 

E reference, which are the forerunners of some humiliating fall : thus be- 
evers often axe left to feel their need of help from the very persons whom 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 99 

Then I saw in my dream they went very lovingly on 
together, and had sweet discourse of all things that 
had happened to them in their pilgrimage ; and thus 
Christian began : — 

My honoured and well-beloved brother Faithful,* I 
am glad that I have overtaken you ; and that God has 
so tempered our spirits that we can walk as com- 
panions in this so pleasant a path. 

Faith. I had thought, dear friend, to have had your 
company quite from our town, but you did get the 
start of me ; wherefore I was forced to come thus 
much of the way alone. 

Chr. How long did you stay in the city of Destruc- 
tion, before you set out after me on your pilgrimage ? 

Faith. Ti\l I could stay no longer ; for there was 
gTeat talk presently after you were gone out, that our 
city would in a short time, with fire from heaven, be 
burned down to the ground. 

Chr. What ! did your neighbours talk so ? 
Z Faith. Yes, it was for a while in every body's mouth. 

Chr. What ! and did no more of them but you come 
out to escape the danger? 

Faith. Though there was, as I said, a great talk 
thereabout, yet I do not think they did firmly believe 
it. For in the heat of the discourse, I heard some of 
them deridingly speak of you and your desperate 
journey, for so they called this your pilgrimage. But 
I did believe, and do still, that the end of our city will 
be with fire and brimstone from above ; and therefore 
I have made my escape. 

they have foolishly undervalued. Such experiences, however, give occa- 
sion to those mutual good offices, which unite them more closely in the 
nearest ties of tender affection. 

* "Faithful"— This episode, so to speak, with others of the same kind, 
gives our author a happy advantage of varying the characters and experi- 
ences of Christians, as found in real life ; and of thus avoiding the common 
fault of making one man a standard for others, in the circumstances of his 
religious progress. It often happens, that they who have been aquainted 
before their conversion, .and hear little of each other for some time after, 
find at length that they were led to attend to religion about the same period, 
without having opportunity or courage to confer together about it. The 
decided separation of a sinner from his old companions, and his avowed 
dread of the wrath to come, frequently excites alarms and serious thoughts 
in the minds of others, which they are not able wholly to shake off. In many 
indeed this is a mere floating, transient notion, insufficient to overcome the 

Eropensities of the carnal mind ; but when it arises from a real belief of 
rod's testimony it will at length produce a happy change. 



100 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Chr. Did you hear no talk of neighbour Pliable.* 

Faith. Yes, Christian, I heard that he followed you 
till he came at the slough of Despond; where, as some 
said, he fell in ; but he would not be known to have so 
done ; but I am sure he was soundly bedaubed with, 
that kind of dirt. 

Chr. And what said the neighbours to him ? 

Faith. He has since his going back been had greatly 
in derision, and that among all sorts of people ; some 
do mock and despise him, and scarcely will any set 
him on work. He is now seven times worse than if 
he had never gone out of the city. 

Chr. But why should they be so set against him, 
since they also despised the way that he forsook ? 

Faith. O they say, " Hang him ; he is *a turncoat ! 
he was not true to his profession." I think God has 
stirred up even his enemies to hiss at him, and make 
him a proverb, because he hath forsaken the way, 
(Jer. xxix, 18, 19.) 

Chr. Had you no talk with him, before you came 
out? 

Faith. I met him once in the streets, but he leered 
away on the other side, as one ashamed of what he 
had done ; so I spake not to him. 

Chr. Well, at my first setting out I had hopes of that 
man ; but now I fear he will perish in the overthrow 
of the city: for "it hath happened to him according 
to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his vomit 
again ; and the sow that was washed, to her wallow- 
ing in her mire," (2 Pet. ii, 22.) 

Faith. They are my fears of him too : but who can 
hinder that which will be ? 

Well, neighbour Faithful, said Christian, let us 
leave him, and talk of things that more immediately 
concern ourselves. Tell me now what you have 
met with in the way as you came ; for I know you 



* " Pliable"— Apostates are often ashamed to own they have had con- 
victions : their careless companions assume a kind of superiority over them ; 
they do not think them hearty in the cause of ungodliness, and they despise 
their cowardice and versatility: on the other hand such persons feel that 
they want an apology, and have recourse to contemptible lies and slanders, 
with abject servility"; while they slum religious people, as afraid of their 
.arguments, warnings, and expostulations. 






WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 101 

have met with some things, or else it may be writ for 
a wonder. 

Faith. I escaped * the slough that I perceived you 
fell into, and got up to the gate without that danger ; 
only I met with one, whose name was Wanton, that 
had like to have done me a mischief. 

Chr. It was well you escaped her net : Joseph was 
hard put to it by her, and he escaped her as you did; 
but it had like to have cost him his life, (Gen. xxxix, 
11—13.) But what did she do to you ! 

Faith. You cannot think, but that you know some- 
thing, what a flattering tongue she had ; she lay at me 
hard to turn aside with her, promising me all maimer 
of content. 

Chr. Nay, she did not promise you the content of a 
good conscience. 

Faith. You know that I mean all carnal and fleshly 
content. 

Chr. Thank God you have escaped her : " the ab- 
horred of the Lord shall fall into her ditch," (Frov. 
xxii, 14.) 

Faith. Nay, I know not whether I did wholly escape 
her or no. 

Chr. Why, I trow you did not consent to her desires. 

Faith. No, not to defile myself, for I remembered an 
old writing that I had seen, which said, "her steps 
take hold on hell," (Prov. v. 5 ; Job xxxi, 1.) So I 
shut mine eyes, because I would not be bewitched with 
her looks : then she railed on me, and I went my way. 

Chr. Did you meet with no other assault as you 
came? 

Faith. When I came to the foot of the hill called 
Difficulty,! I met with a very aged man, who asked me 

• " Escaped"— Some men are preserved from desponding fears, and the 
suggestions of worldly wisdom, by receiving more distinct views of the 
general truths of the Gospel ; and thus they proceed with less hesitation 
and interruption in applying to Christ for salvation : yet, perhaps, their 
temperature, turn of mind, habits of life, and peculiar situation, render 
them more accessible to temptations of another kind ; and they may be 
more in danger from the fascinations of fleshly lusts. Thus, in different ways 
the Lord makes his people sensible of their depravity, weakness, and 
exposed situation ; while he so moderates the temptation, or interposes for 
their deliverance, (hat they are preserved, and taught to ascribe all the glory 
to his name. 

t " Difficulty"— Those Christians, who by strong faith or assured hope, 
endure hardships more cheerfully than their brethren, are often exposed to 



102 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

what I was, and whither bound? I told him that I was 
a pilgrim going to the Celestial City. Then said the 
old man, Thou lookest like an honest fellow ; wilt thou 
be content to dwell with me, for the wages that I shall 
give thee ? Then I asked him his name, and where he 
dwelt ? He said his name was Adam the first, and that 
lie dwelt in the town of Deceit, (Ephes. iv, 22.) I 
asked him then what was his work ? and what the 
wages that he would give ? He told me, that his 
work was many delights ; and his wages, that I should 
be his heir at last. I farther asked what house he 
kept, and what other servants he had? So he told me, 
that his house was maintained with all the dainties' 
in the world ; and that his servants where those of 
his own begetting. Then I asked him how many 
children he had? He said, that he had but three 
daughters, "the Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the 
Eyes, and the Pride of Life," (1 John ii, 16 ;) and that 
I should marry them if I would. Then I asked how 
long time he would have me to live with him ? and 
he told me, as long as he lived himself. 

Chr. Well, and what conclusion came the old man 
and you to at last ? 

Faith. -Why, at first I found myself somewhat inclin- 
able to go with the man, for I thought he spake very 
fair ; but looking in his forehead as I talked with Mm, 
I saw there written, " Put off the old man with his 
deeds." 

Chr. And how then ? 

Faith. Then it came burning hot into my mind, 
whatever he said, and however he flattered, when he 
got me home to Ms house, he would sell me for a 

greater danger from the allurements of out-ward objects, exciting the 
remaining propensities of corrupt nature. Deep humiliation and great 
anxiety about the event, in many instances, tend to repress the lusts of the 
heart, by supplying a continual succession of oUier thoughts and cares; 
while constant encouragement, readily attained, too often leaves a man to 
experience them more forcibly. Nay, the same persons, who under press- 
ing solicitude seem to be entirely delivered from some peculiar corruptions, 
find them revive and become very troublesome, when Uiey have obtained 
more confidence about their salvation. The old Adam, the corrupt nature, 
proves a constant snare to many believers, by its hankering after tha 
pleasures, riches, honours, and pride of die world ; nor can the victory be- 
fecmed without gr,eat difficulty and trouble, and strong faith and fervent 
grayer. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 103 

slave. So I bid him forbear to talk, for I would not 
come near the door of his house. Then he reviled 
me, and told me, that he would send such a one after 
me that should make my way bitter to my soul. So I 
.turned to go away from him; but just as 1 turned 
myself to go thence, I felt him take hold of my flesh, 
and he gave me such a deadly twitch back, that I 
thought he had pulled part of me after himself : this 
made me cry, wretched man ! (Rom. vii, 24.) So I 
went on my way up the hill. 

Now, when I had got about half way up, I looked 
behind me, and saw one coming after me, swift as the 
wind ; so he overtook me just about the place where 
the settle stands. 

Just there, said Christian, did I set down to rest 
me ; but being overcome with sleep I there lost this 
roll out of my bosom. 

Faith. But, good brother, hear me out : so soon as 
the man overtook me, he was but a word and a blow, 
for down he knocked me, and laid me for dead. But 
when I was a little come to myself again, I asked him 
wherefore he served me so 1 He said, because of my 
secret inclining to Adam the first : and with that he 
struck me another deadly blow on the breast, and beat 
me down backward: so I lay at his foot as dead as 
before. When I came to myself again I cried him 
mercy ; but he said, I know not how to show mercy ; 
and with that knocked me down again. He had doubt- 
less made an end of me, but that one came by and bid 
him forbear. 

Chr'. Who was that that bid him forbear ? 

Faith. I did not know him at first, but as he went 
by I perceived the holes in his hands and in his side : 
then I concluded that he was our Lord. So I went up 
the hill. 

Chr. That man that overtook you was Moses.* He 
spareth none, neither knoweth he how to show mercy 
to those that transgress his law. 



* "Moses"— The doctrine of Moses did not essentially differ from that 
of Christ : but the giving of the law, that ministration of condemnation to 
all 6'mners, formed so prominent a pan of his dispensation, in which the 
Gospel was exhibited under types and shadows, that " the law" is said to 



101 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Faith. I know it very well ; it was not the first time 
that he has met with me. It was he that came to me 
when I dwelt securely at home, and that told me he 
would burn my house over my head if I staid there. 

Chr. But did you not see the house that stood there 
on the top of the hill on the side of which Moses met 
you? 

Faith. Yes, and the lions too, before I came at it : — 
but, for the lions, I think they were asleep, for it was 
about noon ; and, because I had so much of the day 
before me, I passed* by the porter and came down 
the hill. 

Chr. He told me, indeed, that he saw you go by ; but 
I wish you had called at the house, for they would 
have showed you so many rarities, that you would 
scarce have forgot them to the day of your death. But 
pray tell me, did you meet nobody in the valley of Hu- 
mility ? 

Faith. Yes, I met with t one Discontent, who would 
willingly have persuaded me to go back again with 

have been " given by Moses," while " grace and truth came by Jesus 
Christ;" especially, as the shadows were of no farther use when die sub- 
stance was come. Even such hankerings after worldly objects, as are 
effectually opposed and repressed, being contrary to the spirituality of the 
precept, "Thou shalt not covet," often greatly discourage the new convert ; 
who does not duly recollect, that the Gospel brings relief to those who feel 
themselves justly condemned by the law. Yet these terrors produce deeper 
humiliation, and greater simplicity of dependance on the mercy of Gorl in 
Christ Jesus, as "the end of the law for righteousness to every one that 
believedi. " Many for a time escape discouragement, because they are but 
superficially acquainted with their own hearts"; yet it is proper they should 
be farther instructed by such experiences as are here described, in order to 
their greater stability, tenderness of conscience, and compassion for their 
brediren, in the subsequent part of their pilgrimage. 

* "Passed" — This circumstance, seems to imply, that, in our author's 
Judgment, even eminent believers sometimes decline entering into com- 
munion with dieir brethren, according to his views of it ; and that very 
lively affections and strong consolations may probably have rendered them 
less attentive to these externals. Indeed, he deemed this a disadvantage 
and a mistake (which is perhaps also intimated by Faithful's not calling 
at the house of the Interpreter.) but not a sufficient reason why other 
Christians should not cordially unite with them. This is a beautiful exam- 
ple of that candour, in respect of those things about which pious persons 
differ, that consists with decided firmness in the great essentials of faidi and 
holiness. 

T " I met with" — While some believers are most tried with inward fears 
and conflicts, odiers are more tempted to repine at the outward degrada- 
tion, reproach, ridicule, and loss, to which religion exposes them. A man 
perhaps, at first, may natter himself with the hope of avoiding die pecu- 
liarities and eccentricities, which have brought enmity or contempt on some 
professors of the Gospel : and of ensuring respect and affection, by cautiou, 
vnpjrighinesa, and benevolence; but farther experience and knowledge con. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. ie£ 

him : hie reason was, for that the valley was altogether 
without honour. He told me, moreover, that there to 
go was the way to disoblige all my friends, as Pride, 
Arrogancy, Self-conceit, Worldly-glory, with others, 
who he knew, as he said, would be very much offended 
if I made such a fool of myself as to wade through this 
valley. 

Chr. Well, and how did you answer him ? 

Faith. I told him, that although all these that he 
named might claim kindred of me, and that rightly (for 
indeed they were my relations according to the flesh,) 
yet since I became a pilgrim they have disowned me, 
and I also have rejected them, and therefore they are 
to me now no more than if they had never been of my 
lineage. I told him, moreover, that as to this valley he 
had quite misrepresented the thing; for "before hon- 
our is humility, and a haughty spirit before a fall." 
Therefore, said I, I had rather go through this valley to 
the honour that was so accounted by the wisest, than 
choose that which he esteemed most worthy our affec- 
tions. 

Chr. Met you with nothing else in that valley ? 

Faith. Yes, I met* with Shame ; but of all the men 
that I met with in my pilgrimage, he, I think, bears the 

strain him to adopt and avow sentiments, and associate with persons, that 
the world despises ; and, seeing himself invincibly impelled by his conscience 
to a line of conduct which ensures the reproach of enthusiasm and folly, 
the loss of friends, and manifold mortifications, he is powerfully assaulted 
by discontent ; and tempted to repine, that the way to heaven lies through 
such humiliations and worldly disappointments ; till the considerations, 
adduced in Faithful's answer, enable him at length to overcome this assail- 
ant, and to " seek the honour that cometh from God only." 

* " Yes, I met" — Persons of a peculiar turn of mind, when enabled to 
overcome temptations to discontent about worldly degradation, are exceal- 
ingly prone to be influenced by a false shame, and to profess religion in a 
timid and cautious manner; to be afraid of speaking all their mind in 
some places and companies, even when the most favourable opportunity 
occurs ; to shun in part the society of those whom they most love and 
esteem, lest they should be involved in the contempt which is cast on them ; 
to be reserved and inconstant in attending on the ordinances of God, enter- 
ing a protest against vice and irreligion, bearing testimony to the truth, and 
in attempting fo promote the Gospel : being apprehensive lest these things 
should deduct from their reputation for good sense, prudence, learning, or 
liberality of sentiment. Men, Avho are least exposed to those conflicts in 
which Christian was engaged, are often most baffled by tins enemy ; nor can 
others make prcper allowances for them in this case, any more than they 
can for such as experience those dark temptations, of which they have no 
conception. Constitution, habits, connexions, extensive acquaintance with 
mankind, and an excess of sensibility, united to that pride which is com- 
mon to man, continually suggest objections to every thing that the world 
5* 



100 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

wrong 1 name. The other would be said nay, after a 
little argumentation and somewhat else ; but that bold- 
faced Shame would never have done. 

Clxr. Why, what did he say to you ? 

Faitk. "What ! why he objected against religion 
itself; he said, it was a pitiful, low, sneaking business 
for a man to mind religion ; he said, that a tender con- 
science was an unmanly thing; and that for a man to 
watch over his words and ways, so as to tie up himself 
from that hectoring liberty that the brave spirits of the 
times accustom themselves unto, would make him the 
ridicule of the times. He objected also, that but few 
mighty, rich, or wise, were ever of my opinion : nor 
any of them neither, before they were persuaded to be 
fools, and to be of a voluntary fondness to venture the 
loss of all for nobody knows what, (John vii, 48 ; 1 Cor. 
i, 26; iii, 18; Phil, iii, 7—9.) He moreover objected 
the base and low estate and condition of those that 
were chiefly the pilgrims of the times in which they 
lived; also their ignorance, and want of understand- 
ing in all natural science. Yea, he did hold me to it 
at that rate also about a great many more things than 
here I relate ; as, that it was a shame to sit whining' 
and mourning under a sermon, and a shame to com© 
sighing and groaning home ; that it was a shame to 
ask my neighbour forgiveness for petty faults, or to- 
make restitution where I have taken trom any. He 
said also, that religion made a man grow strange to 
the great, because of a few vices, which are called by 
finer names : and made him own and respect the base, 

despises, which they ean hardly answer to themselves, and excite such 
alarms as they cannot get over; while a delicate sense of propiiety, and 
the specious name of prudence, supply them with a kind of half excuse for 
their timidity. The excessive trouble which this criminal and unreasonable 
shame occasions some persona contrary to their judgment, convictions, 
arguments, endeavours, and prayers, gave our author the idea, Uiat " this 
enemy bears a wrong name." Many a suggestion made to the mind la 
this respect from time to time is so natural, and has so strong a party within 
(especially in diose who are mere desirous of honour thau of wealth or 
pleasure.) that men can scarcely help feeling for the moment as if there 
were truth in it, though they know, upon reflection, that it is most irra- 
tional. Nay, these feelings insensibly warp men's conduct; though they 
are continually self-condemned on the retrospect. There are some who 
hardly ever get the better of this false shame ; and it often briees dieir sin-. 
eerily into doubt, both with themselves and others; but flourisluug Chris-, 
tiatrs at length in good measure rise superior to it, by such ccnj»idesatLgo» 
as ore here adduced, and by earliest persevering prayer. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. Xff 

because of the same religious fraternity; and is not 
this, said he, a shame ? 

Chr. And what did you say to him ? 
Faith. Say ! I could not tell what to say at first. 
Yea, he put me so to it, that my blood came up in my 
face : even this Shame fetched it up, and had almost 
beat me quite off. But at last I began to consider, that 
" that which is highly esteemed among men is had in 
abomination with God." (Luke xvi, 15.) And I thought 
again, this shame tells me what men are, but it tells 
me nothing what God or the word of God is. And 
I thought, moreover, that at the day of doom we shall 
not be doomed to death or fire, according to the hec- 
toring spirits of the world, but according to the wis- 
dom and law of the Highest. Therefore, thought I, 
what God says is best, indeed is best, though all the 
men in the w orld are against it : seeing then that God 
prefers Ins religion; seeing God prefers a tender con- 
science ; seeing they that make themselves fools for 
the kingdom of heaven are wisest ; and that the poor 
man that loveth Christ is richer than the greatest man 
in the world that hates him — Shame, depart, thou art 
an enemy to my salvation ; shall I entertain thee 
against my sovereign Lord ? how then shall I look him 
in the face at Ins coming 1 Should I now be ashamed 
of his ways and servants, how can I expect the bless- 
ing? (Mark viii, 38.) But indeed this Shame was a 
bold villain ; I could scarce shake him out of my com- 
pany ; yea, he would be haunting of me, and continu- 
ally whispering me in the ear, with some one or other 
of the infirmities that attend religion : but at last I told 
him, it was but in vain to attempt farther in this busi- 
ness ; for those things that he disdained in those did I 
see most glory ; and so at last I got past this importu- 
nate one. And when I had shaken Mm off then I begaoa 
to sing : 

The trials that those men do meet withal, 

That are obedient to the heavenly call, 

Are manifold, and suited to the flesh, 

And come, and come, and come again afresh ; 

That now, or some times else, we by them may 

Be taken, overcome, and cast away- 



108 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

O let the pilgrims, let the pilgrims, then, 
Be vigilant, and quit themselves like men. 

Chr. I am glad, my brother, that thou didst with- 
stand this villain so bravely ; for of all, as thou sayest, 
I think he has the wrong name ; for he is so bold as to 
follow us in the streets, and to attempt to put us to 
shame before all men ; that is, to make us ashamed of 
that which is good. But if he was not himself auda- 
cious, he would never attempt to do as he does : but 
let us still resist him ; for, notwithstanding all his bra- 
vadoes, he promoteth the fool, and none else. "The 
wise shall inherit glory," said Solomon ; " but shame 
shall be the promotion of fools," (Prov. iii, 35.) 

Faith. I think we must cry to him for help against 
Shame, that would have us be valiant for truth upon 
the earth. 

Chr. You say true : but did you meet nobody else in 
that valley 1 

Faith. No, not I,* for I had sunshine all the rest of 
the way through that, and also through the valley of 
the Shadow of Death. 

Chr. It was well for you ; I am sure it fared far 
otherwise with me : I had for a long season, as soon 
as almost I entered into that valley, a dreadful combat 
with that foul fiend Apoliyon ; yea, I thought verily he 
would have killed me, especially when he got me 
down and crushed me under him as if he would have 
crushed me to pieces ; for as he threw me my sword 
new out of my hand ; nay, he told me he was sure of 
me ; but I cried to God, and he heard me, and delivered 
me out of all my troubles. Then I entered into the 
valley of the Shadow of Death, and had no light for 
almost half the way through it. I thought I should 

* " No, not I" — Christian in great measure escaped the peculiar temp- 
tations that assaulted Faithful ; yet lie sympathized "with him : nor did the 
latter deem the gloomy experiences of his brother visionary or imaginative, 
though he had been exempted from such trials. One man, from a compli- 
cation of causes, is exposed to temptations of which another is i?norant ; 
in this case he needs much sympathy, which he seldom meets with ; while 
they, who are severe on him, are liable to he harassed and baffii?d in another 
way, which, for want of coincidence in habit, temperature, and situation, 
he is equally prone to disregard. Thus believers are often led recipro- 
cally to censure, suspect, despise, or dislike each other, on those very 
grounds which should reader them useful aud encouraging counsellors and 
companions. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 109 

have been killed there over and over ; but at last day- 
brake, and the sun lose, and I went through that 
which was behind with far more ease and quiet. 

Moreover, I saw in my dream, that as they went on, 
Faithful, as he chanced to look on one side, saw a 
man, whose name * is Talkative, walking at a distance 
beside them ; for in this place there was room enough 
for them all to walk. He was a tall man, and some- 
thing more comely at a distance than at hand. To this 
man Faithful addressed himself in this manner : 

Friend, whither away 1 are you going to the heavenly 
country ? 

Talk. I am going to the same place. 

Faith. That is well ; then I hope we may have your 
good company 1 

Talk. With a very good will will I be your compa- 
nion. 

Faith. Come on then, and let us go together, and let 
us spend our time in discoursing of things that are'pro- 
fitable. 

Talk. To talk of things that are good to me is very 
acceptable, with you or with any other ; and I am glad 
that I have met with those that incline to so good a 
work ; for, to speak the truth, there are but few that 
care thus to spend their time as they are in their tra- 
vels ; but choose much rather to be speaking of things 
to no profit : and this hath been a trouble to me. 

Faith. That is indeed a thing to be lamented; for 



* " Whose name" — The character next introduced, under a most expres- 
sive name, is an admirable portrait, drawn by a masterly hand from some 
striking original, but exactly resembling numbers in every age and place 
where the truths of the Gospel are generally known. Talkative is not thus 
called merely on account of his loquacity, but from the peculiarity of his 
religious profession, which gave scope to his natural propensity, by furnish- 
ing him with a copious subject, and enabling him to display Ins talents, or 
seek credit in the church, without the trouble and expense of experimental 
and practical godliness. Such vain talkers especially appear when reli- 
gious profession is safe, cheap, and reputable ; numbers keeping one another 
in countenance, preventing the odium of singularity, and even giving a 
prospect of secular advantage by connexion with religious societies. They 
may, therefore, be expected in our age and nation, particularly in populous 
places, where the preaching or profession of any doctrine excites little 
attention or surprise, but ensures regard and favour from a numerous body 
who hold the same opinions. Such men appear above others, pushing 
themselves into notice, and becoming more conspicuous than humble 
believers ; but their profession, specious at a distance, will not endure it 
near and strict investigation. 



1J0 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

What thing so worthy of the use of the tongue sn^ 
mouth of men on earth, as are the things of the God 
of heaven I 

Talk. Hike you wonderful well, for your sayings are 
full of conviction : and, I will add, what thing is so 
pleasant, and what so profitable, as to talk of the tilings 
of God 1 

What things so pleasant ? that is, if a man hath any 
delight in things that are wonderful ; for instance, if a 
man doth delight to talk of the history or the mystery 
of things ; or if a man doth love to talk of miracles, 
wonders, or signs — where shall he find things recorded 
so delightful, and so sweetly penned, as in the Holy 
Scripture } 

Faith. That's true : but to be profited by such things 
in our talk should be our chief design. 

Talk. That is that I said; for to talk of such things 
is most profitable ; for by so doing a man may get 
knowledge of many things ; as, of the vanity of earthly 
tiimgs, and the benefit of things above. Thus in ge- 
neral ; but more particularly, by this a man may learn 
the necessity of the new birth ; the insufficiency of 
our works; the need of Christ's righteousness, &c. 
Besides, by this a man may learn what it is to repent, 
to believe, to pray, to suffer, or the like ; by this also 
a man may learn what are the great promises and con- 
solations of the Gospel, to his own comfort. Farther, 
by this a man may learn to refute false opinions, to 
vindicate the truth, and also to instruct the ignorant. 

Faith. All this is true, and glad am I to hear these 
things from you. 

- Talk. Alas ! the want of this is the cause that so 
few understand the need of faith, and the necessity 
of a work of grace in their soul, in order to eternal 
life ; but ignorantly live in the works of the law, by 
the winch a man can by no means obtain the kingdom 
of heaven. 

Faith, But, by * your leave, heavenly knowledge of 

• w But by 1 ' — Zealous and lively Christians, who are not well established 
in judgment and experience, are often gready taken widi the discourse of 
person^ who speak with ereat fluency and speciousness on various subjects, 
■with a semblance of truiB and piety ; yei tfiey eoiueaiues feel, as U weje, a. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. Ill 

these Is the gift of God; no man attaineth to them by 
hmman industry, or only by the talk of them. 

Talk. All that I know very well ; for a man can re- 
ceive nothing - , except it be given him from heaven ; 
all is of grace, not of works : I could give you a hun- 
dred scriptures for the confirmation of this. 

Well then, said Faithful, what is that one thing that 
we shall at this time found our discourse upon? 

Talk. What you will : I will talk of things heavenly 
or things earthly : things moral or things evangelical ; 
things sacred or things profane : things past or things 
to come ; things foreign or things at home ; things 
more essential or things circumstantial ; provided that 
all be done to our profit. 

Now did Faithful begin to wonder ; and stepping to 
Christian, (for he walked all this while by himself) 
he said to him, but softly, What a brave companion 
have we got ! surely this man will make a very excel- 
lent pilgrim. 

At this * Christian modestly smiled and said, This 

defect in their harangues, which makes them hesitate, though they are 
easily satisfied with plausible explanations. Talkative's discourse is copied 
with surprising exactness from that of numbers, who learn doctriually to 
discuss experimental subjects, of which they never felt the energy and 
eflicacy in their own souls. Men of this stamp can lake up any point in 
religion with great ease, and speak on it in a pompous, ostentatious manner ; 
but the humble believer forgets himself, while from his inmost heart he 
expatiates on topics which he longs to recommend to those whom he ad- 
dresses. Humility and charity, however, dispose the possessors to make 
the best of others, and to distrust themselves : so that, unless these graces 
be connected with proportionable depth of judgment, and acuteness of 
discernment, they render them open to deception^and liable to be deceived 
by vain-glorious talkers. It would be conceited and uncandid, they think, 
to suspect a mau who says so many good things, with great confidence and 
zeal ; Uieir dissatisfaction with the conversation or sermon they suppose 
was their own fault ; if they disagreed with the speaker, probably they 
were in an error; if a doubt arose in their minds about his spirit or motives. 
it might be imputed to their own pride and envy. Thus men are seduced 
to sanction what they ought to protest against, and to admire those whom 
they should avoid; and that even by means of their most amiable disposi- 
tions. What follows is peculiarly calculated to rectify such mistakes, and 
to expose the consequences of Uiis ill-judged candour. 

• lf At this']— Those believers, who have made the most extensive and 
accurate observations on the state of religious profession in their own age 
and place, and are most acquainted with the internal history of the church 
in other lands or former periods, may be deemed inferior in charity to their 
bretliren ; because they surpass them in penetration, and clearly perceive 
the mischiefs which arise from countenancing loose professors. They would 
vie with them in " doing good to all men," " bearing with the infirmities of 
the weak," " restoring such as are overtaken in a fault," or in making 
allowances for the tempted ; but they dare not sanction such professors as 
talk about religion and disgrace it, as mislead the ample, stumble the hop©- 



112 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

man, with whom you axe so taken, will beguile with 
this tongue of his twenty of them that know him not. 

Faith. Do you know him then ? 

Chr. Know him ! yes, better than he knows himself ! 

Faith. Pray what is he I 

Chr. His name is Talkative; he dwelleth in our 
town ; I wonder that you should be a stranger to him, 
only I consider that our town is large. 

Faith. Whose son is he ; and whereabouts doth he 
dwell ? 

Chr. He is the son of one Saywell, he dwelt in 
Prating-row ; and is known, of all that are acquainted 
with him, by the name of Talkative in Prating-row ; 
and notwithstanding his fine tongue he is but a sorry 
fellow. 

Faith. Well, he seems to be a very pretty man. 

Chr. That is, to them that have not a thorough ac- 
quaintance with him ; for he is best abroad ; near 
home he is ugly enough : your saying, that he is a 
pretty man, brings to my mind what I have observed 
in the work of the painter, whose pictures show best 
at a distance, but very near, more unpleasing. 

Faith. I am ready to think you do but jest, because 
you smiled. 

Chr. "God forbid that I should jest (though I smiled,) 
in this matter, or that 1 should accuse any falsely. I 
will give you a farther discovery of him : this man is 
for any company, and for any talk ; as he talketh now 
with you, so will he talk when he is on the ale bench ; 
and the more drink he hath in his crown the more of 
these tilings he hath in his mouth : religion hath no 
place in his heart, or house, or conversation ; and all 
he hath lieth in his tongue, and his religion is to make 
a noise therewith. 

Faith. Say you so ! then 1 am in this man greatly 
deceived. 



fill, prejudice the observing, and give enemies a plausible objection to the 
truth. Here charity constrains us to run the risk of bein<* deemed uncha- 
ritable, by unmasking a hypocrite, and undeceiving the deluded. We must 
not indeed speak needlessly against any one, nor testify more than we know 
to be true even against a suspected professor , but we should show, that vain 
talkers belong to the world, though numbers class them among religiou3 
people to the great discredit of the~eause» 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 113 

Chr. Deceived ! you may be sure of it : remember 
the proverb, " They say, and do not ;" but " the king- 
dom of God is not in word, but in power," (Matt, xxiii, 
3 ; 1 Cor. iv, 20.) He talketh of prayer, of repentance, 
of faith, and of the new birth ; but he knows but only 
to talk of them. I have been in his family, and have 
observed him both at home and abroad ; and I know 
what I say of him is the truth. His house is as empty 
of religion as the white of an egg is of savour. There 
is there neither prayer, nor sign of repentance for 
sin; yea, the brute, in his kind, serves God far better 
than he. He is the very stain, reproach, and shame, 
of religion to all that know him, (Rom. ii, 23, 24 ;) it 
can hardly have a good word in all that end of the 
town where he dwells, through him. Thus say the 
common people that know him, "A saint abroad, and 
a devil at home," His poor family finds it so; he is 
such a churl, such a railer at, and so unreasonable 
with, his servants, that they neither know how to do 
for, or to speak to him. Men that have any dealings 
with him say it is better to deal with a Turk than with 
him, for fairer dealings they shall have at his hands. 
This Talkative, if it be possible, will go beyond them, 
defraud, beguile, and overreach them. Besides, he 
brings up his sons to follow his steps ! and if he finds 
in any of them a " foolish timorousness," (for so he 
calls the first appearance of a tender conscience,) he 
calls them fools and blockheads, and by no means will 
employ them in much, or speak to their commenda- 
tions before others. For my part, I am of opinion, 
1 that he has by his wicked life caused many to stum- 
ble and fall : and will be, if God prevents not, the 
ruin of many more. 

Faith. Well, my brother, I am bound to believe you ; 
not only because you say you know him, but also be- 
cause like a Christian you make your reports of men. 
For I cannot think that you speak those things of ill 
will, but because it is even so as you say. 

Chr. Had I known him no more than you, I might 
perhaps have thought of him as at the first you did : 
yea, had he received this report at their hands only 
that are enemies to religion, I should have thought 



114 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

it had been a slander, (a lot that often falls from bad 
men's mouths upon good men's names and profes- 
sions :) but all these thing's, yea, and a great many 
more as bad, of my own knowledge, I can prove him 
guilty of. Besides, good men are ashamed of him; 
they can neither call him brother nor friend ; the very 
naming of him among them makes them blush if they 
know him. 

Faith. "Well, I see that * saying and doing are two 
things, and hereafter I shall better observe this dis- 
tinction. 

Chr. They are two things indeed, and are as diverse 
as are the soul and the body; for, as the body without 
the soul is but a dead carcase, so saying, if it be alone, 
is but a dead carcase also. The soul of religion is 
the practic part : " pure religion and undenled, before 
God and the Father, is this : to visit the fatherless and 
widows in their affliction, and to keep himself un- 
spotted, from the world," (James i, 22 — 27.) This 
Talkative is not aware of; he thinks that hearing and 
saying will make a good Christian; and thus he de- 
ceiveth his own soul. Hearing is but as the sowing of 
the seed ; talking is not sufficient to prove that fruit is 
indeed in the heart and life ; and let us assure our- 
selves, that, at the day of doom, men shall be judged 
according to their fruit, (Matt..xiii, 23 :) it will not be 

* " I see that"— Talkative seems to have been introduced on purpose that 
the author might have a fair opportunity of stating his sentiments con- 
cerning- the practical nature of religion, to which numbers in his day were 
too inattentive. This admired allegory has fully established the important 
distinction between a dead and a living faith, on which the whole matte? 
depends. We may boldly state every doctrine of grace, with all possible 
strength and clearness, and every objection must ultimately fall to the 
ground, all abuses be excluded, provided this distinction be fully and con- 
etantly insisted on : for they arise without exception from substituting some 
false notion of faith in the place of that living, active, and efficacious prin- 
ciple, which the Scriptures so constantly represent as die grand peculiarity 
ct vital godliness. The language used in this passage is precisely the same 
as is now branded with the opprobrious epithet of legal, by numbers who 
would be thought to admire the Pilgrim ; as any impartial person must 
perceive, upon an attentive perusal "of it : and, indeed, some expressions 
are used which they, who are accustomed to stand their trial before such 
as " make a man an offender for a word,'-' have learned to avoid. " The 
practic part" is more accurately denned to be the unfailing effect of that 
inward life which is the soul of religion, than the soul itself. True faith 
justifies indeed, as it forms the sinners relation to, and union with, Christ ; 
but it always "works by love," and influences to obedience: hence die 
inquiry at the day of judgment will be rather about the inseparable fruiJa 
of faith, than its e&seuualprGperties and nature. 






WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. MS 

said then. " Did you believe 7" but, "Were you doers, 
or talkers only J° and accordingly shall they be ju 
The end of the world is compared to our harvest ; and 
you know men at harvest regard nothing but fruit. 
Not that any tiling can be accepted that is not of faith ; 
but I speak this to shew you how insignificant the pro- 
fession of Talkative will be at that day. 

Faith. This brings to my mind that of Mose 
which he described the beast that is clean, (Le 
Dent, xiv :) he is such an one that parteth the 
and cheweth the cud ; not that parteth the hoof only, 
or that cheweth the cud only. The hare cheweth the 
cud, but yet is unclean, because he parteth not tne 
hoof. And this truly resembleth Talkative ; he che a - 
eth the cud, he seeketh knowledge : he cheweth upon 
the word ; but he divideth not the hoof, he parteth not 
with the way of sinners ; but, as the hare, he retainer;! 
the foot of a dog or bear, and therefore he is unclean. 

Chr. You have spoken, for aught I know, the true 
Gospel sense of those texts. And I will add another 
thing : Paul calleth some men, yea, and those great 
talkers too, " sounding brass, and tmkiing cymbals ;" 
that is, as he expounds them in another place, " things 
without life, giving sound," (ICor. xiii, 1 — 3 ; xiv, 7 ) 
" Tilings without life ;" that is, without the true faith 
and grace of the Gospel ; and consequently things th'at 
shall never be placed in the kingdom of heaven amcr.g 
those that are the children of life, though their sound, 
by their talk, be as it were the tongue or voice of an 
angel. 

Faith. Well,* I was not so fond of his company at 
first, but am sick of it now. What shall we do to be 
rid of him 1 

* u Well"— When we speak to loose professors, we should always 
two things in view ; either to get rid of such ensnaring and dishonourable 
companions, or to use proper means to convince them of their fatal mis- 
take. There is indeed more hope of the most ignorant and careless sinners 
■man of them : yet " with God all tilings are possible," and we should ijot 
despair of any, especially as the very same method is suited to both the ends 
proposed; which the subsequent discourse most clearly evinces, v'erv 
plain and particular declarations of those things, by which true believers 
are distinguished from the most specious hypocrites (whether in conversa- 
tion or preaching.) are best calculated to undeceive and alarm false pro- 
fessors ; and form the most commodious fan. by which the irreclaimable 
easy be winnowed from the society of godly persons. This is of gxeai 



116 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Chr. Take my advice and do as I bid you, and yoa 
shall find that he will soon be sick of your company 
too, except God shall touch his heart and turn it. 

Faith. What would you have me to do ? 

Chr. Why, to go to him, and enter into some serious 
discourse about the power of religion; and ask him 
plainly when he has approved of it (for that he will,) 
whether this thing be set up in his heart, house, or 
conversation? 

Then Faithful stepped forward again, and said to 
Talkative, Come, what cheer ! how is it now ? 

Talk. Thank you, well ; I thought we should have 
had a great deal of talk by this time. 

Faith. Well, if you will, we will fall to it now ; and 
since you left it with me to state the question, let it be 
this : How doth the saving grace of God discover itself 
"when it is in the heart of man? 

Talk. I perceive, then, that our talk must be about 
the power of things : well, it is a very good question, 
and I shall be willing to answer you ! and take my an- 
swer in brief thus : first, where the grace of God is in 
the heart it causeth there a great outcry against sin. 
Secondly — 

Faith. Nay, hold ; let us consider of one at once : I 
think you should rather say, It shews itself by mclining 
the soul to abhor its sin. 

Talk. Why, what difference is there between crying 
out against, and abhorring of, sin. 

Faith. Oh ! a great deal. A man may cry out against 
sin of policy, but he cannot abhor it but by virtue of a 
godly antipathy against it : I have heard many cry out 
against sin in the pulpit, who yet can abide it well 



importance ; for they are Achans in the camp of Israel, spots and blemishes 
to every company that countenances them. Doctrinal or even practical 
discussions, if confined to general terms, wQl not startle them ; they will 
mimic the language of experience, declaim against the wickedness of the 
world and the Blindness of pharisees, and strenuously oppose the opinions 
held by some rival sect or party ; they will endure the most awful declara- 
tions of the wrath of God against the wicked, supposing themselves to be 
unconcerned in them ; nay, they will admit that they are backsliders, or 
inconsistent believers. But when the conversation or sermon compels there 
to complain, "in so saying thou condemnest us also," they will bear no 
longer, but seek refuse under more comfortable preachers, or in more can- 
did company ; and represent their faithful monitors as censorious, peeviafc, 
and melancholy men. 






WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 117 

•enough in the heart, house, and conversation. Joseph's 
mistress cried with a loud voice, as if she had been 
very holy ; but she would willingly, notwithstanding 
that, have committed uncleanness with him, (Gen. 
xxxix, 11 — 15.) Some cry out against sin, even as the 
mother cries out against her child in her lap, when she 
calls it slut and naughty girl, and then falls to hugging 
and kissing it. 

Talk. You lie at the catch, I perceive. 

Faith. No, not I, I am only for setting things right. 
But what is the second thing whereby you will prove 
a discovery of a work of grace in the heart 1 

Talk. Great knowledge of gospel mysteries. 

Faith. This sign should have been first : but, first or 
last, it is also false ; for knowledge, great knowledge, 
may be obtained in the mysteries of the Gospel, and 
yet no work of grace in the soul, (1 Cor, xiii.) Yea, if a 
man have all knowledge he may yet be nothing, and so 
consequently be no child of God. When Christ said, 
" Do ye know all these tilings V and the disciples had 
answered, Yes ; he added, "Blessed are ye, if ye do 
them." He doth not lay the blessing in th6 knowing of 
them, but in the doing of them. For there is a know- 
ledge that is not attended with doing : " he that know- 
eth his master's will, and doeth it not." A man may 
know like an angel, and yet be no Christian; therefore 
your sign of it is not true. Indeed, to know is a thing 
that pleaseth talkers and boasters ; but to do is that 
which pleaseth God. Not that the heart can be good 
without knowledge; for without that the heart is 
nought. There is * therefore knowledge and know- 
ledge ; knowledge that resteth in the bare speculation 
of things, and knowledge that is accompanied with the 
grace of faith and love, which puts a man upon doing 
even the will of God from the heart : the first of these 
will serve the talker ; but without the other the true 

* "There is"— Spiritual knowledge, obtained by an implicit belief of 
-God's sure testimony under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, producing a 
hearty love of revealed truth, is always humbling, sanctifying, and trans- 
forming : but speculative knowledge is a mere notion of divine things, as 
distant from a man's own concern in them, or any clue apprehension of 
their excellency and importance, which puffs up the heart with proud self. 
preference, feeds carnal and malignant passions, and leaves the possessor 
■ander the power of sin and Satan. 



118 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Christian is not content : " Give me understanding and 
I shall keep thy law ; yea, I shall observe it with my 
whole heart," (Ps. cxix, 34.) 

Talk. You lie at the catch again; this is not for 
edification. 

Faith. Well, if you please, propound another sign 
how this work of grace discovereth itself where it is. 

Talk. Not I, for I see we shall not agree. 

Faith. Well, if you will not, will you give me leave 
to do it 1 

Talk. You may use your liberty. 

Faith. A work of grace in the soul discovereth itself, 
either to him that hath it, or to standers by. 

To him that hath it, thus : it gives him conviction of 
sin, especially of the defilement of his nature, and the 
sin of* unbelief, for the sake of which he is sure to 
be uamned, if he findeth not mercy at God's hand by 
faith in Jesus Christ, (Mark xvi, 16 ; John xvi, 8, 9 ; 
Rom. vii, 24.) This sight and sense of things worketh 
in him sorrow and shame for sin ; he findeth, more- 
over, revealed in him the Saviour of the world, and 
the absolute necessity of closing with him for life ; at 
the which he findeth hungerings and thirstings after 
him ; to which hungerings, &c, the promise is made, 
(Ps. xxxviii, 18 ; Jer. xxxi, 19 ; Matt, v, 6 ; Acts iv, 12 ; 

* " The sin of "—Divine teaching convinces a man that he is justly con- 
demned for his transgressions of the law, and cannot be saved unless he 
obtains an interest in the merits of Christ by faith ; and that unbelief, or 
neglect of this great salvation, springs from pride, aversion to the character, 
authority, and law of God, and love to sin and the world : that it implies 
the guilt of treating the truth of God as a he, despising his wisdom and 
mercy, demanding happiness as a debt from his justice, and defying his 
" wrath revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness 
of men. " This conviction makes way for his discovering the suitableness 
to liis case of a free salvation by faith : he perceives the glory of the divine 
perfections harmoniously displayed in the person and redemption of Christ ; 
and his heart is inwardly drawn to close with the invitations of the Gospel, 
and to desire above all things the fulfilment of its exceedingly great and 
precious promises to his soul. The expression " revealed in him," is taken 
from St. Paul's account of his conversion, (Gal. i, 16 ;) but as that was 
extraordinary, without the intervention of means or instruments, perhaps 
it is not accurately applied to the ordinary experience of believers. Our 
author. however, evidently meant no more than the illumination of the 
Holy Spirit enabling a man to understand, believe, admire, and love the 
truths of the Bible respecting Christ ; and not any new revelation, declaring 
his interest in the Saviour, by a whisper, vision, or any such tiling. These 
enthusiastic expectations and experiences have deceived many and stumbled 
more ; and have done greater harm to the cause of evangelical religion than 
can be conceived or expressed. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 119 

Gal. i, 15, 16; Rev. xxi, 6.) Now, according to the 
strength or weakness of his faith in his Saviour, so is. 
his joy and peace, so is his love to holiness, so are his 
desires to know him more, and also to serve him in 
this world. But though, I say, it discovereth itself 
thus unto him, yet it is but seldom that he is able to 
conclude that this is a work of -grace ; because his 
corruptions now, and his abused reason, make his 
mind to misjudge in this matter : therefore in him that 
hath this work there is required a very sound judg- 
ment before he can with steadiness conclude that this 
is a work of grace. 

To others, it is thus discovered : 1. By an experi- 
mental confession of his faith in Christ. 2. By a life 
answerable to that confession ; to wit, a life of holi- 
ness ; heart-holiness, family-holiness (if he hath a 
family,) and by conversation-holiness in the world; 
which in the general teacheth him inwardly to abhor 
Ids sin, and himself for that, in secret ; to suppress it 
in his family, and to promote holiness in the world ; 
not by talk only, as a hypocrite or talkative person may 
do, but by a practical subjection in faith and love to 
the power of the word, (Ps. 1, 23 ; Ezek. xx, 43 ; Matt, 
v, 8 ; John xiv, 15 ; Rom. x, 9, 10 ; Phil, hi, 17—20.) 
And now, sir, as to this brief description of the work 
of grace, and also the discovery of it, if you have aught 
to object, object ; if not, then give me leave to pro- 
pound to you a second question. 

Talk. Nay, my part is not now to object, but to hear: 
let me therefore have your second question. 

Faith. It is* this : Do you experience this first part 

* " It is"— It is not enough to state practical and experimental subjectg 
in the plainest and most distinguishing manner : we ought also to apply 
them to men's consciences, by the most solemn and particular interroga- 
tions. In preaching, indeed, care must be taken not to turn the thoughts 
of a congregation to an individual ; yet we should aim to lead every one 
to reflect on his own case, and excite his conscience to perform the office 
of a faithful monitor. But in private, when we have ground to suspect that 
men deceive themselves, such plain dealing is the best evidence of disinte- 
rested love. It is at present, alas ! much disused, and deemed inconsistent 
with politeness ; so that, in many cases, such an attempt would be con- 
6idered as a direct outrage and insult : and perhaps, in some circles, the 
language of these plain pilgrims might be exchanged for that which would 
be less offensive, without deducting from its energy : yet zeal for the honour 
of the Gospel, and love to the souls of men, are, no doubt, grievously sacri* 
ficed to urbanity, in this age of courteous insincerity, 



120 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

of the description of it ! and doth your life and con- 
versation testify the same ? or standeth your religion 
in word or tongue, and not in deed and truth ? Pray, 
if you incline to answer me in this, say no more than 
you know the God above will say amen to ; and also 
nothing but what your conscience can justify you in : 
" for not he that commendeth himself is approved, but 
whom the Lord commendeth." Besides, to say I am 
thus and thus, when my conversation and all my 
neighbours tell me I lie, is great wickedness. 

Then Talkative at first began to blush ; but, recover- 
ing himself, thus he replied: You come now to expe- 
rience, to conscience, and God ; and to appeal to him 
for justification of what is spoken: this kind of dis- 
course 1 did not expect ; nor am I disposed to give an 
answer to such questions ; because I count not my- 
self bound thereto, unless )-ou take upon you to be a 
catechizer ; and though you should so do, yet I may 
refuse to make you my judge. But I pray, will you 
tell me why you ask me such questions ? 

Faith. Because I saw you forward to talk, and be- 
cause I knew not that }'ou had aught else but notion. 
Besides, to tell you all the truth, I have heard of you, 
that you are a man whose religion lies in talk, and 
that your conversation gives this your mouth-profes- 
sion the lie. They say you are a spot among Chris- 
tians ; and that religion fareth the worse for your 
ungodly conversation ; that some already have stum- 
bled at your wicked ways, and that more are in danger 
of being destroyed thereby ; your religion and an ale- 
house, and covetousness, and uncleanness, and swear- 
ing, and lying, and vain company-keeping, &c, will 
stand together. The proverb is true of you which is 
said of a whore, to wit, that " she is a shame to all 
women ;" so you are a shame to all professors. 

Talk. Since'you are ready to take up reports, and to 
judge so rashly as you do, I cannot but conclude you 
are some peevish or melancholic man, not fit to be dis- 
coursed with ; — and so, adieu. 

Then came up Christian, and said to his brother, 1 
told you how it would happen ; your words and his 
lusts could not agree, He had rather leave your com- 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 121 

pany than reform his life ; but he is gone, as I said : 
let him go, the loss is no man's but his own : he has 
saved us the trouble of going from him ; for he, con- 
tinuing (as I suppose he will do,) as he is, he would 
have been but a blot in your company : besides, the 
apostle says, " from such * withdraw thyself." 

Faith. But I am glad we had this little discourse 
with him ; it may happen that he will think of it again : 
however I have dealt plainly with him, and so am 
clear of his blood if he perisheth. 

Chr. You did well to talk so plainly to him as you 
did ; there is but little of this faithful dealing with 
men now-a-days, and that makes religion to stink so 
in the nostrils of many as it doth : for they are these 
talkative fools, whose religion is only in words, and 
are debauched and vain in their conversation, that, 
being so much admitted into the fellowship of the 
godly, do puzzle the world, blemish Christianity, and 
grieve the sincere. I wish that all men would deal 
with such as you have done ; then should they be 
either made more conformable to religion, or the com- 
pany of saints would be too hot for them. Then did 
Faithful say- 
How Talkative at first lifts up his plumes ! 
How bravely doth he speak ! How he presumes , 
To drive down all before him ! But so soon 
As Faithful talks of heart-work, like the moon 
That's past the full, into the wane he goes ; 
And so will all but he that heart-work knows. 



* " From such"— This apostolical rule is of the greatest importance. 
While conscientious Christians, from a mistaken candour, tolerate scanda- 
lous professors and associate with them, they seem to allow that they belong 
to the same family ; and the world will charge their immoralities on the 
doctrines of the Gospel, saying of those who profess them, " they are -all 
alike, if we could find them out." But did all, who " adorn the doctrine 
of God our Saviour," withdraw from such men, their crimes would rest 
with themselves, and the world would be compelled to see the difference 
between hypocrites and real Cltristians. This is also the most effectual 
method of exciting self-deceivers, or inconsistent professors to self-exami- 
nation, and of thus bringing them to be ashamed and humbled in true 
repentance : at the same time, it tends to deprive such men of that influx 
ence which they often employ to mislead and pervert hopeful inquirers 
and unestablished believers. The best discipline would have but a partial 
effect in preventing these evils, if not followed up by this conduct of indi- 
viduals ; and , where the former cannot be obtained, the latter would produce 
happier consequences than believers in general can suppose. 
6 



122 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Thus they went on talking- of what they had seen 
by the way, and so made that way easy winch would 
otherwise no doubt have been tedious to them: for 
now they went through a wilderness. 

Now, when they were got almost quite out of this 
wilderness, Faithful chanced to cast his eye back, and 
spied one coming after them, and he knew him. Oh ! 
said Faithful to his brother, Who comes yonder ? Then 
Christian looked, and said, It is my* good friend Evan- 
gelist. Aye, and my good friend too, said Faithful, for 
it was he that set me the way to the gate. Now as 
Evangelist came up unto them, he thus saluted them : 

Peace be with you, dearly beloved; and peace be to 
your helpers. 

Chr. "Welcome, welcome, my good Evangelist ; the 
sight of thy countenance brings to my remembrance 
thy ancient kindness and unwearied labours for my 
eternal good. 

And a thousand times welcome, said good Faithful; 
thy company, O sweet Evangelist, how desirable is it 
to us poor pilgrims ! 

Then said Evangelist, How hath it fared with you, 
my friends, since the time of our last parting ? what 
have you met with, and how have you behaved your- 
selves ? 

Then Christian and Faithful told him of all things 
that had happened to them in the way ; and how, and 
with what difficulty, they had arrived to that place. 

Right glad am I, said Evangelist, not that you have 
met with trials, but that you have been victors, and 
for that you have, notwithstanding many weaknesses, 
continued in the way to this very day. I say, right 
glad am I of this thing, and that for my own sake and 

* " It is my" — The author, intending next to represent his pilgrims as 
exposed to severe persecution, and to exhibit in one view what Christians 
should expect, and may be exposed to, from the enmity of the world, very 
judiciously introduces that interesting scene by Evangelist's meeting them, 
with suitable cautions, exhortations, and encouragements. The minister, 
by whose faithful labours a man is first directed into the way of salvation, 
commonly retains great influence, and is considered with special affection, 
even when various circumstances nave placed him at a distance under some 
other pastor. The conversation, therefore, of such a beloved friend tends 
to recall to the minds of believers' their former fears, trials, and deliverances, 
which animates them to encounter farther difficulties, and opens the way 
far seasonable counsels and admonitions. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 123 

yours. I have sowed and you have reaped ; and the 
day is coming, when " both he that sowed and they 
that reaped shall rejoice together ;" that is, if you hold 
out ; " for in due time ye shall reap, if you faint not," 
(John iv, 36; Gal. vi, 9.) The 'crown is before you, 
and it is an incorruptible one ; " so run that you may 
obtain it." Some there be that set out for this crown, 
and after they have gone far for it another comes in 
and takes it from them ; " hold fast therefore that you 
have, let no man take your crown," (1 Cor. ix, 24—27; 
Rev. iii, 11 :) you are not yet out of the gunshot of the 
devil ; " you have not resisted unto blood, striving 
against sin :" let the kingdom be always before you, 
and believe steadfastly concerning things that are 
invisible ; let nothing that is on this side the other 
world get within you ; and, above all, look well to your 
own hearts and to the lusts thereof, for they are " de- 
ceitful above all things, and desperately wicked :" set 
your faces like a flint ; you have all power in heaven 
and earth on your side. 

Then Christian thanked him for his exhortation ; but 
told him withal, that they would have him speak far- 
ther to them for their help the rest of the way ; and 
the rather for that they well knew that he was a pro- 
phet, * and could tell them of things that might happen 
unto them, and how they might resist and overcome 
them. To which request Faithful also consented. So 
Evangelist began as followeth : 

My sons, you have heard in the words of the truth 
of the Gospel, that " you must through many tribula- 
tions enter into the kingdom of heaven :" and again, 

* " Prophet"— The able and faithful minister can foretel many things, 
from his knowledge of the Scriptures, aud enlarged experience and obser- 
vation, of which his people are not aware. He knows beforehand, that 
41 through much tribulation they must enter into the kingdom of God;" and 
the circumstances of the times aid him in discerning what trials and diffi- 
culties more especially await them. A retired life shelters a believer from 
the enmity of the world ; and timid men are often tempted on this ac- 
count to abide in the wilderness, to choose obscurity and solitude, for 
the sake of quiet and safety, to the neglect of those active services for 
which they are qualified. But when Christians are called forth to a more 
public situation, they will need peculiar cautions and instructions: for 
inexperience renders men inattentive to the words of Scripture; and 
they often do not at all expect, or prepare for, the trials which are 
inseparable from those scenes, on which they are perhaps even impatient 
to enter. 



124 THE PILGRIMS PROGRESS, 

that " in every city, bonds and afflictions abide on 
you ;" and therefore you cannot expect that you should 
go long on your pilgrimage without them, in some sort 
or other. You have found something of the truth of 
these testimonies upon you already, and more will 
immediately follow : for now, as you see, you are 
almost out of this wilderness, and therefore you will 
soon come into a town that you will by-and-bye see 
before you ; and in that town you will be hardly beset 
with enemies, who will strain hard but they will kill 
you ; and be you sure, that one or both of you must 
seal the testimony, which you hold, with blood : but 
" be you faithful unto death, and the King will give 
you a crown of life." He that shall die there, although 
his death, will be unnatural, and his pains perhaps 
great, he will yet have the better of his fellow ; not 
only because he will be arrived at the Celestial City 
soonest, but because he will escape man)" miseries 
that the other will meet with in the rest of his journey. 
But when you are come to the town, and shall find ful- 
filled what I have here related, then remember your 
friend, and quit yourselves like men ; and " commit 
the keeping of souls to your God in well-doing, as unto 
a faithful Creator." 

Then I saw in my dream, that, when they were got 
out of the wilderness, they presently saw a town be- 
fore them ; the name * of that town is Vanity ; and at 

* " The name"— Our author evidently designed to exhibit in his allegory 
the grand outlines of the difficulties, temptations, and sufferings, to which 
believers are exposed in this evil world ; which, in a work ofthis nature, 
must be related as if they came upon them one after another in regular 
succession ; though in actual experience several may meet together, many 
may molest the same person again and again, and some harrass him in 
every stage of his iourney. We should, therefore, singly consider the 
instruction conveyed by every allegorical incident, witiiout measuring our 
experience, or calculating our progress, by comparing them with circum- 
stances, which might be reversed or altered with almost endless variety. 
In general, Vanity fair represents the wretched state of things, in those 
populous places especially, where true religion is neglected and persecuted ; 
and indeed of die whole world. " as lying in wickedness," and as distin- 
guished from die church of redeemed sinners. This continues die same 
(in respect of the general principles, conduct, and pursuits of mankind) 
through all ages and nations ; but Christians are called to mix more with it 
at some times than at others ; and Satan, its god and prince, is permitted to 
excite fierce persecution in some places and on some occasions, while at 
other times he is restrained. Many, therefore, seem to spend all their days 
in the midst of Vanity fair, and of continual insults or injuries; while 
others are only sometimes thus exposed, and pass most of their lives unmo- 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 125 

that town there is a fair kept, called Vanity fair : it is 
kept all the year long : it beareth the name of Vanity 
fair, because the town where it is kept is " lighter 
than vanity," and also because all that is there sold, or 

lested ; and a few are favoured with so obscure a situation, and such peace* 
able times, that they are very little acquainted with these trials. Mr. 
Bunyan, living in the country, had frequent opportunities of witnessing 
those fairs, which are held first in one town and then in another ; and of 
observing the pernicious effects of such a concourse of people, drawn 
together by interest, or for the purposes of dissipation and debauchery, on 
the principles, morals, health, and circumstances of young persons espe- 
cially. He must also, doubtless, have found them to be a very dangerous 
snare to serious or hopeful persons : so that his delineation of this case, 
under allusions taken from such a scene, will be more interesting and 
affecting to those who have been spectators of these things, than to such as 
have moved in higher circles, or dwelt chiefly in populous cities. Worldly 
men covet, pursue, grasp at, and contend for, the things of time and sense, 
with such eagerness and violence, that their conduct aptly resembles the 
bustle, selfishness, artifice, dissipation, riot, and tumult of a large crowded 
fair. The profits, pleasures, honours, possessions, and distinctions of the 
world, are as transient and frivolous as the events of the fair-day; with 
which the children are delighted, but which every man of sense contemns. 
Solomon, after a complete experiment, pronounced the whole to be " vanity 
of vanities ;" the veriest vanity imaginable, a complex vanity, an accumu- 
lation of ciphers, a lottery consisting entirely or blanks ; every earthly 
object being unsuitable to the wants of the rational soul,' unsubstantial, 
unsatisfactory, irksome, disappointing, and perishing. Yet this traffic of 
vanities is kept up all the year ; because the carnal mind always hankers 
after one or other of these worldly trifles, and longs " for change of follies, 
and relays of joy ;" while objects suited to its feverish thirst are always at 
hand to allure it, deriving their efficacy from continually pressing, as it 
were, on the senses. When our first parents were fatally prevailed on to 
join Satan's apostacy, they " forsook the Fountain of living waters, to hew 
out for themselves broken cisterns ;" and the idolatry of seeking happiness 
from the creature instead of the Creator, has been universal among all their 

Eosterity. Since the promise of a Saviour opened to fallen men a door of 
ope, the tempter has continually tried to allure them by outward objects, 
or induce them by the dread of pain and suffering, to li neglect so great 
salvation. " Thus the prince of the devils sets up this fair ; and by teaching 
men to abuse the good creatures of God to vile purp° ses ) or to expect from 
them such satisfaction as they were never meant to afford, he hath used 
them as baits to the ambition, avarice, levity, and sensuality of the carnal 
mind. Xo crime has ever been committed on earth, or conceived in the 
heart of man, which did not arise from this universal apostacy and idola- 
try ; from the excess, to which the insufficiency of the object to answer the 
proposed end gives rise: and from the vile passions, which the jarring 
interests or inclinations of numberless competitors for honour, power, 
wealth, and pleasure, cannot fail to excite. As the streams of impiety and 
vice, which flow from this source, are varied, according to men's constitu- 
tions, educations, habits, and situations ; so different worldly pursuits pre- 
dominate in divers nations, or stages of civilization. Hence the manifold 
variations in the human character, which equal the diversity of their com- 
plexions, shape, or capacities, though they be all of one nature. To this 
an allusion is made by '' the rows" in this fair. The merchandise of Rome, . 
which suited a rude and ignorant age, has now given place to the more 
plausible wares of scepticarphilosophers, which are more agreeable to the 
pride of learning and human reasoning. Even things lawful in themselves, 
when sought or possessed in a manner wliich is not consistent with " seek- 
ing first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness," become allurements 
of Satan, to draw sinners into his fatal snare. 



126 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

that cometh thither, is vanity. As is the saying of 
the wise, "All that cometh is vanity," (Eecles. i, 
2—14 ; ii, 11—17 ; xi, 8 ; Isa. xl, 17.) 

This fair is no new-erected business, but a thing of 
'ancient standing : I will shew you the original of it. 

Almost five thousand years agone there were pil- 
grims walking to the Celestial City, as those two hon- 
est persons are ; and Beelzebub, Apollyon, and Legion, 
with their companions, perceiving, by the path that the 
pilgrims made, that their way to the city lay through 
this town of Vanity, they contrived here to set up a 
fair ; a fair, wherein should be sold all sorts of vanity ; 
and that it should last all the year long ; therefore at 
this fair are all such merchandise sold, as houses, 
lands, trades, places, honours, preferments, titles, 
countries, kingdoms, lusts, pleasures ; and delights of 
all sorts, as whores, bawds, wives, husbands, children, 
masters, servants, lives, blood, bodies, souls, silver, 
gold, pearls, precious stones, and what not ! 

And moreover, at this fair there is at all times to be 
seen juggling, cheats, games, plays, fools, apes, knaves, 
and rogues, and that of every kind. 

Here are to be seen too, and that for nothing, thefts, 
murders, adulterers, false swearers, and that of a 
blood-red colour. 

And as in other fairs of less moment (1 ~ re are 
several rows and streets under their proper names, 
where such wares are vended, so here likewise you 
have the proper places, rows, streets, (viz. covntnes 
and kingdoms,) where the wares of this fair are soon- 
est to be found. Here is the Britain row, the French 
row, the Italian row, the Spanish row, the German 
row, where several sorts of vanities are to be sold. 
But as in other fairs some one commodity is as the 
chief of all the fair, so the ware of Rome and her 
merchandise is greatly promoted in the fair; only our 
English nation, with some others, have taken a dislike 
thereat. 

Now, as I said, the way* to the Celestial City lies 

* "The -way"— Christianity does not allow men to " bury their talent in 
the earth," or to put t; their light under a bushel :" they should not " go out 
oi" the world," or retire into cloisters and deserts, and, therefore, they must 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 127 

just through the town where this lusty fair is kept; and 
he that will go to the city, and yet not go through this 
town, " must needs go out of the world." The Prince 
of princes himself, when here, went through this town 
to his own country, and that upon a fair-day too : yea, 
and as I think, it was Beelzebub, the chief lord of this 
fair, that invited him to buy of his vanities ; yea, would 
have made him lord of the fair, would he but have done 
him reverence as he went through the town ; yea, be- 
cause he was such a person of honour, Beelzebub had 
him from street to street, and showed him all the king- 
doms of the world in a little time, that he might, if pos- 
sible, allure that Blessed One to cheapen and buy some 
of his vanities ; but he had no mind to the merchandise, 
and therefore left the town without laying out so much 
as one farthing upon these vanities, (Matt, iv, 8, 9 ; 
Luke iv, 5 — 7.) This fair, therefore., is an ancient thing, 
of long standing, and a very great fair. 

Now these pilgrims, as I said, must needs go through 
this fair. Well, so they did ; but behold, even as they 
entered into the fair, all the* people in the fair were 
moved, and the town itself, as it were, in a hubbub 
about them ; and that for several reasons : for,— 

all zo through this fair. Thus our Lord and Saviour endured all the temp- 
tations and 'sufferings of this evil world ; without being at all impeded or 
entanelecLhv-'hem, or stepping in the least aside to avoid them. The age 
in which ) ■} lived peculiarly abounded in all passible allurements ; and he 
was exposed to such enmity, contempt, and sufferings, as could never be 
exceeded or equalled. But "he went about doing good ;" and his whole 
conduct, as well as his indignant repulse of the tempter's insolent offer, 
hath ahorira emphatically his judgment of all earthly things, and exhibited 
to us " an example, that we should follow his steps." Here are inserted 
the following lines— 

" Behold Vanity Fair 1 The pilgrims there 
Are chained, and stoned beside : 
Even so it was our Lord past here, 
And on mount Calvary died. 

* " All the"— The presence of real Christians in those places, where a 
large concourse of worldly men is collected, must produce a disturbance 
and effervescence. The smaller the number is of those whose actions, 
words, or silence protest against the prevalency of vice and irreligion, the 
fiercer the opposition that will be excited. A pious clergyman, on board 
a vessel where he was a single exception to the general ungodliness that 
prevailed, once gave great offence by silently withdrawing, when oaths or 
unseemly discourse made his situation uneasy, and he was called to account 
for so assuming a singularity ! Believers, appearing in character among 
worldly people, and not disguising their sentiments, will meet with this 
opposition; which more accommodating professors will escape. The 



128 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

First, The pilgrims were clothed with such kind of 
raiment as was diverse from the raiment of any that 
traded in that fair. The people, therefore, of the fair 
made a great gazing upon them : some said they were 
fools, (1 Cor. iv, 9, 10 ;) some, they were bedlams ; and 
some, they were outlandish men. 

believer's avowed dependance on the righteousness and atonement of Christ 
for acceptance, gives vast offence to those who rely on their own good works 
for justification This conformity to the example, and obedience to the com- 
mandments of the Redeemer, render him a precise, unfashionable, uncouth 
character, in the judgment of those who "walk according to the course 
of this world :" aud they will deem him insane or outlandish for his oddi- 
ties and peculiarities. His discourse, seasoned with piety, humility, serious- 
ness, sincerity, meekness, and spirituality, so differs from the " filthy con- 
versation of the wicked," and the polite dissimulation of the courtly, that 
they can have no intercourse with him, or he with them ; and if he speaks 
of the love of Christ, and the satisfaction of communion with him, while 
they " blaspheme the worthy name by which he is called," they must be as 
barbarians to each other. But above all, the believer's contempt of worldly 
things, when they interfere with the will and glory of God, forms such a 
testimony against all the pursuits and conduct of carnal men, as must 
excite their greatest astonishment and indignation ; while he shuns with 
dread and abhorrence, as incompatible with salvation, those very tiiing3 
to which they wholly addict themselves without the least remorse ! When 
the scoffs of those, who " think it strange that they will not run with them 
to the same excess of riot," extort from them a more explicit declaration of 
their religious principles, it may be expected, that the reproaches and insults 
of their despisers will be increased ; and then all the mischief and confusion 
which follow will be laid to their charge. " There were no such disputes 
about religion before they came" to " turn the world upside down ;" " they 
exceedingly trouble the city," town, or village, by their pious discourse 
and censorious example. Thus Satan takes occasion to excite men to per- 
secute the church, when he fears lest the servants of God should success- 
fully disseminate their principles : persecuting princes and magistrates, his 
u most u-usty friends," are deputed by hini to molest and punish theirpeace- 
able subjects, for conscientiously refusing conformity to the world, or for 
dissenting from doctrines and modes of worship, which they deem unscrip- 
tural. Thus the most valuable members of the community are banished, 
imprisoned, or murdered ; multitudes are tempted to hypocrisy ; encou- 
ragement is given to time-servers to seek secular advantages by acting 
contrary to their conscience ; the principles of sincerity and integrity are 
generally weakened or destroyed by multiplied prevarications and false 
professions; and numerous instruments ot cruelty and oppression are 
involved in this complication of atrocious crimes. Our author doubtless 
drew many of his 'portraits in this historical picture from originals then 
sufficiently known ; and if any think that he has heightened his colourings, 
it may furnish them with a subject for gratitude, and a reason for content 
and peaceable submission to our rulers. In Fox's Martyrs we meet with 
authenticated facts, that fully equal this allegorical representation ; nay, 
" The Acts of the Aposdes" give us the very same view of the subject The 
contempt, injustice, and cruelty, with which persecutors treat the harmless 
disciples of Christ, makes way tor the exhibition o£ that amiable conduct 
and spirit which accord to the precepts of Scripture, and the example of 
persecuted prophets and aposdes ; this often produces the most happy 
effects on those who are less prejudiced, which still more exasperates deter- 
mined opposers ; but, however, frequently occasions a short respite for the 
persecuted, wiiile worldly people quarrel about them among themselves. 
And even if greater severity be at length determined on, in order to deter 
Cillers from joining them, perseverance in prudence, meekness, and patience, 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 129 

Secondly, And as they wondered at their apparel, so 
they did likewise at their speech; for few could 
understand what they said : they naturally spoke the 
language of Canaan ; but they that kept the fair were 
the men of this world : so that from one end of the fair 
to the other they seemed barbarians each to the other. 

Thirdly, But that which did not a little amuse the 
merchandisers was, that these pilgrims set very light 
by all their wares ; they cared not so much as to look 
upon them ; and if they called upon them to buy, they 
would put their fingers in their ears, and cry, " Turn 
away mine eyes from beholding vanity," (Ps.cxix, 37;) 
and look upwards, signifying that their trade and traffic 
was in heaven. 

One chanced, mocking, beholding the carriages of 
the men, to say unto them, " What will ye buy ?" but 
they, looking gravely upon him, said, " We buy the 
truth," (Prov. xxiii, 23.) At that there was an occa- 
sion taken to despise the men the more ; some mocking, 
some taunting, some speaking reproachfully, and some 
calling upon others to smite them. At last tilings came 
to a hubbub and great stir in the fair, insomuch that 
all order was confounded. Now was word presently 
brought to the great one of the fair, who quickly came 
down, and deputed some of his most trusty friends to 
take those men into examination, about whom the fair 
was almost overturned. So the men were brought to 
examination ; and they that sat upon them asked them 
whence they came, whither they went, and what they 
did there in such an unusual garb 1 The men told them, 
that they were pilgrims and strangers in the world ; 
and that they were going to their own country, which 

amidst all the rage of their enemies, will bear testimony for them in the 
consciences of numbers : their religion will appear beautiful, in proportion 
as their persecutors expose their own odious deformity ; God will be with 
them to comfort and deliver them ; he will be honoured by their profession 
end behaviour, and many will derive the most important advantage from 
their patient sufferings, and cheerful fortitude in adhering to th# truths of _ 
the Gospel. But when believers are put off their guard by ill usage ; when 
their zeal is rash, fierce, contentious, boasting, or disproportionate ; when 
they are provoked to render " railing for railing," or to act contrary to the 
plain precepts of Scripture ; then they bring guilt on their consciences, 
stumble their brethren, harden the hearts and open the mouths of opposers, 
dishonour God and the Gospel, and gratify the great enemy of souls ; who 
malignantly rejoices in their misconduct, but istortured when they endure 
Bufferings iu a proper manner. 



130 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

was the heavenly Jerusalem, (Heb. xi, 13—16;) and 
that they had given no occasion to the men of the 
town, nor yet to the merchandisers, thus to abuse 
them, and to let them in their journey; except it was 
for that, when one asked them what they would buy, 
they said they would buy the truth. But they that 
were appointed to examine them, did not believe them 
to be any other than bedlams and mad, or else such as 
came to put all things into a confusion in the fair. 
Therefore they took them and beat them, and be- 
smeared them with dirt, and then put them into the 
cage, that they might be made a spectacle to all the 
men of the fair. Therefore they lay for some time, 
and were made the object of any man's sport, or malice, 
or revenge ; the great one of the fair laughing still at 
all that befel them. But the men being patient, and 
<4 not rendering railing for railing, but contrariwise 
blessing," and giving good words for bad, and kindness 
for injuries done, some men in the fair, that were more 
observing and less prejudiced than the rest, began to 
check and blame the baser sort for their continual 
abuses done by them to the men ; they therefore in an- 
gry manner let fly at them again, counting them as bad 
as the men in the cage, and telling them, that they 
seemed confederates, and should be made partakers of 
their misfortune. The other replied, that, for aught 
they could see, the men were quiet and sober, and in- 
tended nobody any harm ; and that there were many 
that traded in their fair that were more worthy to be 
put into the cage, yea, and pillory too, than were the 
men that they had abused. Thus after divers words 
had passed on both sides, (the men behaving them- 
selves all the while very wisely and soberly before 
them,) they fell to some blows among themselves, and 
did harm one to another. Then were these two poor 
men brought before their examiners again, and there 
charged as being guilty of the late hubbub that had 
been in the fair. So they beat them pitifully, and 
hanged irons upon them, and led them in chains up and 
down the fair, for an example and terror to others, lest 
any should speak in their behalf, or join themselves 
unto them. But Christian and Faithful behaved them- 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 131 

selves yet more wisely, and received the ignominy 
and shame that was cast upon them with so much 
meekness and patience, that it won to their side 
(though but few in comparison of the rest) several of 
the men in the fair. This put the other party yet into 
a greater rage, insomuch that they concluded the death 
of these two men. Wherefore they threatened, that 
the cage nor irons should serve their turn, but that 
they should die for the abuse they had done, and for 
deluding the men of the fair. 

Then were they remanded to the cage again, until 
farther order should be taken with them. So they put 
them in, and made their feet fast in the stocks." 

Here, therefore, they called again to mind what they 
had heard from their faithful friend Evangelist, and 
were the more confirmed in their ways and sufferings 
by what he told them would happen to them. They 
also now comforted each other, that whose lot it was 
to suffer, even he should have the best on it ; there- 
fore each man secretly wished that he might have that 
preferment : but committing themselves to the all- wise 
dispose of Him that ruleth all things, with much con- 
tent they abode in the condition in which they were, 
until they should be otherwise disposed of. 

Then a convenient time being appointed, they brought 
them forth to their trial, in order to their condemnation. 
When * the time was come they were brought before 
their enemies, and arraigned. The judge's name was 
Lord Hategood: their indictment was one and the 

* "When"— The description of the process instituted*against the pil- 
grims, is given in language taken from the legal forms used in our courts 
of justice, which in Mr. Bunyan's days were shamefully perverted to sub- 
serve the most iniquitous oppressions. The allegorical narrative is framed 
in such a manner, as emphatically exposes the secret reasons, whieh influ- 
ence, men thus to persecute their inoffensive neighbours; and the very 
names employed declare the several corrupt principles of the heart, from 
whence this atrocious conduct results. Enmity against God, and his holy 
character, law, worship, truth, and servants, is" the principal source of 
persecution ; the judge in Faithful's trial. The interference of spiritual 
religion widi men's covetous, ambitious, and sensual pursuits ; and the 
interruption it gives to their false peace and unanimity in ungodliness or 
hypocrisy, which it tends to expose and undermine, form the grounds of 
the indictment ; that is, when the persecuted can truly answer, that they 
" only set themselves against that which sets itself against God ;" and when 
they do not suffer "as evil-doers, busy-bodies in other men's matters," 
ambitious competitors for secular advantages, or contentious disputanjs 
about political questions. 



132 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

same in substance, though, somewhat varying in form : 
the contents whereof was this : 

That they were enemies to, and disturbers of, their 
trade ; that they had made commotions and divisions in 
the town, and had wen a party to their own most dan- 
gerous opinions, in contempt of the law of their prince. 

Then Faithful began to answer, that he had only set 
himself against that which had set itself against him 
that is higher than the highest. And, said he, as for 
disturbance, I make none, being myself a man of peace ; 
the parties that were won to us, were won by behold- 
ing our truth and innocence ; and they are only turned 
from the worse to the better. And as to the king you 
talk of, since he is Beelzebub, the enemy of our Lord, I 
defy Mm and all his angels. 

Then proclamation was made, that they that had 
ought to say for their lord the king against the prisoner 
at the bar, should forthwith appear and give in their 
evidence. So there came in three witnesses,* to wit, 
Envy, Superstition, and Pickthank. They were then 
asked if they knew the prisoner at the bar ; and what 
they had to say for their lord the king against him? 

Then stood forth Envy, and said to this effect : My 
lord, I have known this man a long time, and will 



* " Witnesses"— The names of these witnesses declare the characters of 
the most active instruments of persecution. Even Pilate could perceive, 
that the Jewish scribes and priests were actuated by envy, in delivering up 
Jesus to him. His instructions discredited theirs, and diminished their 
reputation and influence ; he was more followed than they ; and in propor- 
tion as be w as deemed a teacher sent from God, they were regarded as blind 
guides. Thus formal instructors and learned men, who are strangers to 
the power of godliness, have always affected to despise the professors and 
preachers of the Gospel as ignorant enthusiasts ; they envy the reputation 
acquired by them, and are angry at the success of their doctrines. If they 
have not the authority to silence the minister, they will browbeat such of 
his hearers as are within the reach of their influence ; especially if they 
have affronted them, by forsaking their uninteresting instructions. If they 
cannot prevail upon " the powers that be" to interfere, they will employ 
reproaches, menaces, or even oppression, to obstruct the progress of evan- 
gelical ministers; should any obsolete law remain unrepealed, of which 
they can take advantage, they will be the first to enforce it ; and if the 
rulers engage in persecution, they will take the lead, as prosecutors and 
witnesses. As this was remarkably the case in our author's days, and aa 
the history of die Old and New Testament, and eveiy authentic record of 
persecutions, give the same view of it. we cannot be greatly at a loss to 
know what was especially meant by this emblem. In other respects there 
is seldom much in the circumstances of pious persons, to excite the envy 
of their ungodly neighbours ; as they despise their spiritual privileges and 
oornforts. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 133 

attest upon my oath before this honourable bench, that 
'he is 

Judge. Hold, give him his oath. 

So they sware him. Then he said, My lord, this 
man, notwithstanding his plausible name, is one of the 
vilest men in our country ; he neither regardeth prince 
nor people, law, nor custom ; but doeth all that he can 
to possess all men with certain of his disloyal* notions, 
which he in the general calls " principles of faith and 
holiness." And, in particular, I heard him once my- 
self affirm, that Christianity and the customs of our 
town of Vanity were diametrically opposite, and could 
not be reconciled. By which saying, my lord, he doth 
at once not only condemn all our laudable doings, but 
us in the doing of them. 

Then did the judge say unto him, Hast thou any 
more to say 1 

Envy. My Lord, I could say much more, only I would 
not be tedious to the court. Yet if need be, when the 
other gentlemen have given in their evidence, rather 
than any thing shall be wanting that will dispatch him, 
I will enlarge my testimony against him. So he was 
bid to stand by. 

Then they calledt Superstition, and bid him look 
upon the prisoner ; they also asked what he could say 

* "Disloyal" — It has always been the practice of envious accusers to 
represent those who refuse religious conformity as disloyal, and disaffected 
to the civil government of their country ; because they judge it right to 
obey God rather than man; how grievous then is it, that any who profess 
the Gospel should give plausibility to such calumnies. How desirable for 
them, after the example, and in obedience to the precepts of Christ and his 
apostles, " by well-doing to put to silence the ignorance of foolish men ;" 
" to avoid all ajjpearauce of evil ;" "to render to Casar the things that are 
Caesar's ;" and to constrain even enemies to bear testimony to dieir peace- 
able deportment ! This would exhibit their patient sufferings for conscience- 
Bake as amiable and respectable in the eyes of all not immediately engaged 
in persecution ; and would give a sanction to dieir most bold arid decided 
testimony against every kind of vice, irreligion, and false religion. But 
when they revile die persons of rulers, or make religion the pretext foj 
intermeddling out of their place in political matters, and of attempting to 
disturb die peace of die community, they exceedingly strengthen men'3 
prejudices against the doctrines of the Gospel, and the whole body of 
those who profess them ; and dius give occasion, and furnish an excuse, fo* 
that very persecution of which diey complain, in odier respects, with the 
greatest justice. 

f " They called" — Superstition represents another class of underling 

Eersecutors (for the principals are often masked infidels.) Traditions, 
uman inventions, forms, and externals, appear to them decent, venerable, 
and sacred ; and are mistaken, with pertinacious ignorance, for the sub- 



134 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

for their lord the king against him ? Then they sware 
him ; so he began : 

My lord, I have no great acquaintance with this man, 
nor do I desire to have farther knowledge of him ; how- 
ever, this I know, that he is a very pestilent fellow, 
from some discourse that the other day I had with him 
in this town ; for then, talking with him, I heard him 
say that our religion was nought, and such by which a 
man could by no means please God. Which saying of 
his, my lord, your lordship very well knows what ne- 
cessarily thence will follow, to wit, that we still do 
worship in vain, are yet in our sins, and finally shall be 
damned : and this is that which I have to say. 

Then was* Pickthank sworn, and did say what he 
knew in the behalf of their lord the king against the 
prisoner at the bar. 

stance of religion. As mere circumstances of worship, some of these may 
very well answer the purpose ; provided they be not imposed, magnified 
above their value, or substituted in the place of things essentially ^good : 
others are bad in their origin, use, and tendency ; yet the truths, ordinances, 
and commandments of God are made void, that men may keep them. 
What is pompous or burthensome appears to such men meritorious ; and 
the excitement of mere natural passions (as at a tragedy) is deemed a most 
needful help to true devotion. They are, therefore, eminently qualified to 
be witnesses against the faithful servants of God ; for they " think they are 
thus doing him service," while they are opposing a company of profane 
despisers of their idolized forms ; a set of fanatics, heretics, and pestilent 
schismatics. Their religious zeal contracts and hardens their hearts, and 
the supposed goodness of die cause sanctifies then bitter rage, enmity, and 
calumny. The manifest odiousness of these proceedings should excite all 
who love the truth to keep at the utmost distance from such obstinate con- 
fidence and violence; to discountenance them to the utmost, in the zealots 
of their own party ; and to leave the enemies of the Gospel, if possible, to 
monopolize this disgrace. For, hitherto, almost every party has been, 
betrayed into it, when advanced to power, and given its opponents the most 
plausible arguments against it 

* " Then was' : — Pickdiank represents a set of tools that persecutors con- 
tinually use : men of no religious principle, who assume die appearance of 
eeal for any party, as may best promote their interests ; who inwardly 
despise both die superstitious and die spiritual worshipper ; and see nothing 
in the conduct or circumstances of the latter to excite dieir rage or envy. 
But if their superiors be disposed to persecute, they will afford their assis- 
tance ; for preferment runs in this channel. So that diey bear testimony 
against believers from avarice or ambition, and flatter the most execrable 
characters, in order to get forward in the world ; this being the grand object 
to which they readily sacrifice every thing else. The names of the persons, 
concerning whom Faithful spoke, shows Uiat his crime consisted in pro- 
tesdug, by word and deed, against vices which the great too often think 
themselves privileged to commit without censure ; and not in reviling the 
persons or misrepresenting the actions of superiors. The former may 
with great propriety be done at ah times ; and on some occasions the testi- 
mony against sin cannot be too closely applied to the consciences of the 
guilty, without respect of persons ; but the latter is always unjust and 
unscriptural. 






WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 135 

My lord, and you gentlemen all, this fellow I have 
known of a long time, and have heard him speak things 
that ought not to be spoke ; for he hath railed on our 
noble prince Beelzebub, and hath spoken contemptu- 
ously of his honourable friends, whose names are the 
Lord Oldrnan, the Lord Carnaldelight, the Lord Luxu- 
rious, the Lord Desire-of-vain-glory, my old Lord 
Lechery, Sir Having Greedy, with all the rest of our 
nobility ; and he hath said moreover, that if all men 
were of his mind, if possible, there is not one of these 
noblemen should have any longer a being in this town. 
Besides, he hath not been afraid to rail on you, my 
lord, who are now appointed to be his judge, calling 
you an ungodly villain, with many other such-like 
viilifying terms, with which he hath bespattered most 
of the gentry of our town. 

When this Pickthank had told his tale, the judge 
directed his speech to the prisoner at the bar, saying, 
Thou renegade, heretic, and traitor, hast thou heard 
what these honest gentlemen have witnessed against 
thee? 

Faith. May I speak a few words in my own defence ? 

Judge. Sirrah, sirrah, thou deservestto live no longer, 
but to be slain immediately upon the place ; yet, that 
all men may se% our gentleness towards thee, let us 
hear what thou, vile renegade, hast to say. 

Faith. I say* then, in answer to what Mr. Envy hath 
spoken, I never said aught but this, that what rule, or 

• " I say' '—Faithful's defence is introduced by these lines, as in the fore- 
going instances — 

" Now, Faithful, play the man, speak for thy God ; 
Fear not the wicked's malice, nor their rod : 
Speak boldly, man. the truth is on thy side ; 
Die for it, and to lite in triumph ride." 

Christians, in such circumstances, should be more concerned for the honour 
of God than for their own credit or safety : they should take occasion to 
bear a decided testimony to the truths, commandments, and institutions of 
Scripture ; leaving it to their accusers, judges, or hearers, to determine 
what sentiments and practices are thus proved to be anti-christian, or what 
cumber of " teachers in Israel" are exposed as blind guides. That faith 
(by which alone we approach to God, and acceptably worship him) has 
no other object than divine revelation ; nothing done without me express 
warrant of Scripture can be profitable to eternal life, whatever may be said 
for its expediency ; but every thing foisted into religion contrary to that 
sacred rule must be an abomination. Human faith may please men ; but 
without a divine faith it is impossible to please God, either in general or in 



136 

laws, or custom, or people, were flat against the word 
of God, are diametrically opposite to Christianity. If I 
have said amiss in this, convince me of my error, and 
I am ready here before you to make my recantation. 

As to the second, to wit, Mr. Superstition, and his 
charge against me, I said only this, that in the worship 
of God there is required a divine faith ; but there can 
be no divine faith without a divine revelation of thi 
will of God. Therefore, whatever is thrust into the 
worship of God that is not agreeable to divine revela- 
tion, cannot be done but by a human faith, which faith 
will not be profitable to eternal life. 

As to what Mr. Pickthank hath said, I say (avoiding 
terms, as that I am said to rail, and the like,) that the 
prince of this town, with all the rabblernent, his atten- 
dants, by this gentleman named, are more fit for being 
in hell than in this town and country ; and so the Lord 
have mercy upon me. 

Then the judge* called to the jury, (who all this 
while stood by to hear and observe,) Gentlemen of tl 

nny particular action. And as we seldom can speak against the vile lust 
of men, without being judged by implication to rail against such as are 
notoriously addicted to them, we cannot be die followers of Mm ' : whom 
the world hated, because he testified of it that its works were evil" unl/ 
vre be willing to risk all consequences in copying his example. 

* " The ju?tge' ; — A more just and keen satirical description of such legs 
iniquities can scarcely be imagined, than that contained in this passag 
The statutes and precedents adduced (with an humourous and well-imitat 
reference to die style and manna - in which charges are commonly given 
to juries) show what patterns persecuting legislators and magistrates choose 
to copy, and whose kingdom diey labour to uphold. Nor can any impar- 
tial man deny, that the inference is fair which our author meant die reader 
to deduce : namely, diat nominal Protestants, enacting laws requirinj 
conformity to their own creeds and forms, and inflicting punishments or 
euch as peaceably dissent from diem, are actually involved in the guilt of 
these heathen persecutors, and of their anti-ctirisiian successors ; even if 
their doctrine and worship be allowed to be scriptural and spiritual. Such 
methods only Eerve to promote hypocrisy, and to expose the conscientious 
to die malice, envy, or avarice of the unprincipled. The names of the 
inrymen, and their general and particular\-erc.ieis, the cruel execution of 
Faithful, and the happy event of his sufferings, need no comment. It was 
not indeed the practice of the times, to which tiiis representation belongs, 
to inflict deadi on those who were persecuted for conscience-sake ? yet very 
great rigours were used ; the system then adopted, if carried to its conse- 
quences, must have ended in die extermination of all nonconformists from 
the land ; it was natural to expect still greater cruelty from persons, who 
xvere found capable of die severities already experienced j and without ail 
doubt many actually lost tlieir lives, in one way or other, by the- perseci> 
tions to winch they were exposed. -All those who feel a disposition to employ 
the power of the magistrate against such as differ from them in religious 
matters, should attentively consider die contemptible and odious picture 
here delineated, with the most entire justice, of the whole race of pejseei* 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 137 

jury, you see this man, about whom so great an uproar 
hath been made in this town ; you have also heard 
what these worthy gentlemen have witnessed against 
him ; also you have heard his reply and confession ; it 
lieth now in your breasts to hang him, or save his life ; 
but yet I think meet to instruct you in our law. 

There was an act made in the days of Pharoah the 
Great, servant to our prince, that, lest those of a con- 
trary religion should multiply and grow too strong for 
him, their males should be thrown into the river, 
(Exod. i.) There was an act also made in the days of 
Nebuchadnezzar the Great, another of his servants, 
that whoever would not fall down and worship his 
golden image, should be thrown into the fiery furnace, 
(Dan. iii.) There was also an act made in the days of 
Darius, that whoso for some time called upon any god 
but him should be cast into the lions' den, (Dan. vi.) 
Now the substance of these laws this rebel has broken, 
not only in thought (which is not to be borne,) but 
also in word and deed ; which must therefore needs be 
intolerable. 

For that of Pharoah— his law was made upon suspi- 
cion, to prevent mischief, no crime yet being apparent ; 
but here is a crime apparent. For the second and 
third— you see he disputeth against our religion ; and 
for the treason he hath confessed, he deserveth to die 
the death. 

Then went the jury out, whose names were, Mr. 
Blindman, Mr. Nogood, Mr. Malice, Mr. Lovelust, 
Mr. Liveloose, Mr. Heady, Mr. Highmind, Mr. Enmity, 
Mr. Liar, Mr. Cruelty, Mr. Hatelight, and Mr. Im- 
placable ; who every one gave in his private verdict 
against him among themselves, and afterwards unani- 

tors, and of their characters, principles, motives, and conduct ; that they 
may learn to hate and dread such an anti-chrisuan practice, and shun the 
most remote approaches to it. On the other hand, they who are exposed 
to persecution, or in danger of it, should study the character and con- 
duct of Faithful, that they may learn to suffer in a Christian spirit, and 
to adorn the Gospel in the fiery trial. The following lines are here intro- 
duced, as before— 

" Brave Faithful ! bravely done in word and deed! 
Judge, witnesses, and jury have, instead 
Of overcoming thee, but shown their rage ; 
When they are dead, thou'lt live from age to age." 



133 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

mously concluded to bring him in guilty before tfrfe 
judge. And first among- themselves, Mr. Blrndman* 
the foreman, said, " I see clearly that this man is a 
heretic." Then said Mr. Nogood, " Away with such a 
fellow from the earth." " Ay," said Mr. Malice, " for I 
hate the very looks of him." Then said Mr. Lovelust, 
" I could never endure liim." " Nor I," said Mr. Live- 
loose, " for he would always be condemning my way." 
" Hang him, hang him," said Mr. Heady. " A sorry 
scrub," said Mr. Highmind. " My heart riseth against 
him," said Mr. Enmity. " He is a rogue," said Mr. 
I.iar. " Hanging is too good for him," said Mr. 
Cruelty. " Let us dispatch him out of the way," said 
Mr. Hatelight. Then said Mr. Implacable, " Might I 
have all the world given me, I could not be recon- 
ciled to him ; therefore let us forthwith bring him in 
guilty of death." . And so they did; therefore he was 
presently condemned to be had from the place where 
he was to the place from whence he came, and there 
to be put to the most cruel death that could be 
invented. 

They therefore brought him out to do with him ac- 
cording to thek law; and first they scourged him, 
then they buffeted him, then they lanced his flesh with 
knives ; after that they stoned him. with stones, then 
pricked him with their swords ; and last of all they 
burned him to ashes at the stake. Thus came Faith- 
ful to his end. 

Now I saw that there stood behind the multitude a 
chariot and a couple of horses waiting for Faithful, 
who, so soon as his adversaries had dispatched him, 
was taken up into it, and straightway was carried up 
through the clouds, with sound of trumpet, the nearest 
way to the Celestial gate. But as for* Christian, he 

* "As for"— "When the believer has done his work, the wrath of man 
may be permitted to expedite his removal to liis heavenly inheritance, be 
yoiid which all the malice and power of earth and hell axe utterly nnavail 
insraeaiusthim. Thus die apostieswere preserved during Satd'sperseeution, 
and Peter was rescued Irani the hands of Herod. The Lord has various 
methods of protecting and liberating his servants : sometimes he intimidates 
their persecutors; the paroxysm of their fury abates ; or they are dishear- 
tened by ill success in their efforts to extirpate the hated sect ; the principals 
and instruments are left to quarrel among themselves; the cruelties they 
exercise so disgust the people, mat they dare not proceed ; political interesa 
engage even ungodly princes to promote toleration, and chain up tnectemon. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 139 

had some respite, and was remanded back to prison ; 
so he there remained for a space: but he that over- 
rules all things, having the power of their rage in his- 
own hand, so wrought it about that Christian for that 
time escaped them, and went his way. 
And as he went he sang, saying, — 

Well, Faithful, thou hast faithfully profest 
Unto thy Lord, of whom thou shalt be blest, 
When faithless ones, with all their vain delight, 
Are crying out under their hellish plight : 
Sing, Faithful, sing, and let thy name survive, 
For though they kill'd thee thou art yet alive. 

Now I saw in my dream that Christian went not 
forth alone ; for there was * one whose name was 
Hopeful, (being so made by the beholding of Christian 
and Faithful in their words and behaviour in their suf- 
ferings at the fair,) who joined himself unto him ; and 
entering into a brotherly covenant, told him that he 
would be his companion. Thus one died to bear testi- 
mony to the truth, and another rises out of his ashes 
to be a companion with Christian in his pilgrimage. 
This Hopeful also told Christian, that there were many 
more of the men in the fair that would take their time 
and follow after. 

So I saw, that quickly after they were got out of the 
fair they overtook one that was going before them, 
whose name! was By-ends; so they said to him, 

persecution ; or the Lord raises up one of his own servants to authority, 
that he may be a protector of his church, and disappoint the devices of his 
enemies. N 

* " There was" — " The blood of the martyrs is die seed of the church ;" 
for sufferings properly endured form the most convincing and useful kind 
of preaching. The name of Christian's new companion denotes the 
opinion, which established believers form at first of such as begin to profess 
the Gospel in an intelligent manner. The nature of an allegory rendered 
it impracticable to introduce die new convert, as beginning his pilgrimage 
from the same place, as going through tire same scenes as Christian had 
done : neither could Faithful, "for die same reason, be represented as pass- 
ing the river afterwards mentioned. But the brotherly covenant, in which 
Hopeful joined himself with his companion, must be supposed to imply 
the substance of all that had been spoken of, as necessary to his final 
acceptance. 

t "Whose name"— The character of By-ends, and the group that 
attended him, forms a clear detection and merited condemnation of a 
large company of false professors, which is not at all inferior in impor- 
tance to the preceding severe satire on open persecutors. When "rest is 
given to the church," hypocrites often muluply more than real Christians* 



140 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

What countryman, Sir ? and how far go you this way? 
He told them that he came from the town of Fair- 
speech, and he was going to the Celestial City, but 
told them not his name. 

From Fair-speech ! said Christian : is there any good 
that lives there ? (Pro v. xxvi, 25.) 

Yes, said By-ends, I hope. 

Pray, Sir, wmat may I call you ? said Christian. 

By. I am a stranger to you and you to me ; if you be 
going this way, I shall be glad of your company ; if not, 
I must be content. 

This town of Fair-speech, said Christian, I have heard 
of, and, as I remember, they say it is a wealthy place. 

By. Yes, I will assure you that it is ; and I have very 
many rich kindred there. 

The name of this pretender to religion, and those of his town and connex- 
ions, do not merely describe his original character and situation (as Chris- 
tian was at first called Graceless of the city of Destruction.) but they denote 
the nature of his religious profession. Believers look back on their former 
principles and behaviour with shame and abhorrence; but hypocrites, 
when reproved for evident sins, excuse them, because Christ came to save 
the lost, and shows mercy to the chief of sinners. Christian would readily 
have granted, that " no good lived" at his native city; be had therefore 
renounced it, with all his old connexions ; but By-ends hoped better of 
Fair-speech, and gloried in his honourable relations there. Yet. he was 
ashamed of his name : for men are unwilling to allow that they seek worldly 
advantages by their religion, and nothing more. The names, afterwards 
selected, aretnost emphatically descriptive of that whole species, who, with 
multiplied variatious, suppose " that gain is godliness ;" as will manifestly 
appear to any reader, who attentively considers them. The polite simula- 
tion and dissimulation, which some most courtly writers have inculcated 
as the summit of good breeding, the perfection of a finished education, and 
the grand requisite for obtaining worldly distinctions, if introduced into reli- 
gion, and adopted by professors or preachers of the Gospel, in connexion 
with fashionable accomplishments and an agreeable address, constitute the 
most versatile, refined, and insinuating species of hypocrisy diat can be 
imagined; and a man of talents, of any occupation or profession, may 
render it very subservient to his interest, by ensuring the patronage or cus- 
tom of those to whom he attaches himself, without giving mucli umbrage 
to the world, which may despise such a character, but will not deem him 
worthy of hatred. He may assume any of the names here provided for 
the purpose, as may best suit his line in life ; and may shape his course, in 
subserviency to his grand concern, with considerable latitude, provided he 
has prudence enough to keep clear of scandalous vices ; he will not be long 
in learning the beneficial art of using two tongues with one mouth, or of 
looking one way and rowing another ; and perhaps he may improve his 
fortune by an honourable alliance with some branch of the ancient family 
of the Feignings. The grand difference betwixt this whole tribe, and the 
body of true Christians, consists merely in these two things — the latter seek 
■alvation by their religion ; the former profess it in order to obtain, in the 
roost advantageous manner, friends, patrons, customers, or applause ; those 
follow the Lord habitually, whatever tribulatious arise because of the word ; 
but these conceal or deny their profession, when, instead of gaining by it, 
they are exposed to reproach or persecution. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 141 

Chr. Pray who are your kindred there, if a man may 
be so bold? 

By. Almost the whole town ; and, in particular, my 
Lord Turn-about, my Lord Time-server, my Lord Fair- 
speech, from whose ancestors the town first took its 
name ; also, Mr. Smooth-man, Mr. Facing-both-ways, 
Mr. Any-thing ; and the parson of our parish, Mr. Two- 
tongues, was my mother's own brother by father's 
side ; and, to tell you the. truth, I am become a gentle- 
man of good quality, yet my great grandfather was but 
a waterman, looking one way and rowing another, and 
I got most of my estate by the same occupation. 

Chr. Are you a married man ? 

By. Yes, and my wife is a very virtuous woman, the 
daughter of a virtuous woman ; she was my lady Feign- 
ing's daughter, therefore she came of a very honoura- 
ble family, and is arrived to such a pitch of breeding, 
that she knows how to carry it to all, even to prince 
and peasant. It is true we somewhat differ in religion 
from those of the stricter sort, yet but in two small 
points : First, we never strive against wind and tide ; 
Secondly, we are always most zealous when religion 
goes in his silver slippers ; we love much to walk with 
him in the street, if the sun shines, and the people ap- 
plaud him. 

Then Christian stepped a little aside to his fellow 
Hopeful, saying, It runs in my mind that this is one By- 
ends of Fair-speech ; and if it be he, we have as very a 
knave in our company as dwelleth in all these parts. 
Then said Hopeful, Ask him ; methinks he should not 
be ashamed of his name. So Christian came up with 
him again, and said, Sir, you* talk as if you knew some- 
thing more than all the world doth ; and, if I take not 
my mark amiss, I deem I have half a guess of you: is 
not your name Mr. By-ends, of Fair-speech? 

* " Sir you"— The downright people of the world know how to serve 
Mammon by neglecting and despising God and religion; the disciples of 
Christ can serve God by renouncing the world and its friendship : but Lima- 
servers talk as if they had found out the secret of uniting these two dis- 
cordant interests, and thus of kuowing something more than all the world. 
This is the most prominent feature in this group of portraits, whicli in othei 
respects exhibits to the spectator various dissimilarities, and contains the 
faces of persons belonging to every division of professed Christiana in the 
world. 



142 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

By. This is not* my name, but indeed it is a nickname 
that is given me by some that cannot abide me, and I 
must be content to bear it as a reproach, as other good 
men have borne theirs before me. 

Chr. But did you never give occasion to men to call 
you by this name 1 

By. Never, never ! the worst that ever I did to give 
them an occasion to give me this name was, that I had 
always the luck to jump in my judgment with the pre- 
sent way of the times, whatever it was ; and my chance 
was to get thereby. But if things are thus cast upon 
me, let me count them a blessing ; but let not the ma- 
licious load me therefore with reproach. 

Chr. I thought indeed that you were the man that I 
heard of ; and, to tell you what I think, I fear this 
name belongs to you more properly than you are will- 
ing we should think it doth. 

By. Well, if you will thus imagine, I cannot help it ; 
you will find me a fair company-keeper if you will still 
admit me your associate. 

Chr. If you will go with us 5*ou must go against 
wind and tide ; the which, I perceive, is against your 
opinion ; you must also own religion in his rags as well 
as when in his silver slippers, and stand by him too 
when bound in irons as well as when he walketh the 
streets with applause. 

By. You must not impose, nor lord it over my faith; 
leave me to my liberty, and let me go with you. 

Chr. Not a step farther, unless you will do in what 
I propound as we. 

Then said By-ends, I shall never desert my old prin- 
ciples, since they are harmless and profitable. If I may 
not go with you I must do as I did before you overtook 

• " This isnot"— When hypocrites are charged with their double-dealing 
and obvious crimes, they commonly set it down to the account of persecu- 
tion, and class them'sel ves with that blessed company, of whom " all mannei 
of evil is spoken falsely, for die name of Christ ;" as if Uiexe were no differ- 
ence between suffering as a Christian, and being exposed as a scandal to tl» 
name of Christianity f Thus they endeavour to quiet their minds, and keep 
tip their credit ; deeming diemselves at the same lime very prudent and 
fortunaie, in shifting about so as to avoid the cross, and secure their temporal 
interests. The apostle says concerning these men, " from such turn away ; M 
and the decided maimer in which Christian warns By-ends, and renounces 
hi* company, though perhaps too plain to be either approved or imitated 
In tliis courtly, candid age, k cejiainiy warraaujd and required by &e hohj 
Scriptures, 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 143 

me, even go by myself, until some overtake me that 
will be glad of my company. 

Now I saw in my dream that Christian and Hopeful 
forsook him, and kept their distance before him; but 
erne of them looking back saw three men following Mr. 
By-ends, and behold as they came up with him, he 
made them a very low congee ; and they also gave him 
a compliment. The men's names were, Mr. Hold-the- 
world, Mr. Money-love, and Mr. Save-all ; men that Mr. 
By-ends had formerly been acquainted with ; for in 
their minority they were school-fellows, and were 
taught by one Mr. Gripeman, a schoolmaster in Love- 
gain, which is a market town in the county of Covet- 
ing, in the north. This schoolmaster taught them the 
art of getting, either by violence, cozenage, flattery, 
lying, or by putting on a guise of religion ; and these 
four gentlemen had attained much of the art of their 
master, so that they could each of them have kept 
such a school themselves. 

Well, when they had, as I said, thus saluted each 
other, Mr. Money-love said to Mr. By-ends, Who are 
they upon the road before us ? for Christian and Hope- 
ful were yet within their view. 

By. They are a couple of far countrymen, that after 
their mode are going on pilgrimage. 

Money. Alas ! why did they not stay, that we might 
have had their good company ? for they, and we,* and 
you, Sir, I hope, are all going on pilgrimage. 

* "They and we" — It might have been supposed, that the persons here 
introduced were settled inhabitants of the town of Vanity, or the city of 
Destruction ; but indeed they profess themselves pilgrims, and are desirous, 
during the present sunshine, to associate with such ; provided they will 
fellow them, without censure, to hold the world, love money, and save all, 
whatever become of faith and holiness, or of honesty, piety, truth, and 
charity ! Covetousness, whether it consist in rapaciously trying to get 
money (to hoard, or to lavish, to purchase consequence, power, or plea- 
sure, or to support magnificence and the pride of life ;) or parsimony in the 
ordinary proportion of expenditure ; or tenacity, when duty requires a man 
to part with it, is a vice not so easily defined as many others. At the same 
time it enables a man, in various ways, to reward those who can be induced 
to connive at it, and to render it dangerous to oppose him ; so that it is not 
wonderful, that it generally finds more quarter, even among religious per- 
sons, than odier vices, which are not marked with so black a brand in the 
holy Scriptures. Too many professors even "bless the covetous, whom 
God abhor reth," and speak to them as if they were doubtless true Chris- 
tians ; because of their steadiness in the profession of a doctrinal system, 
and a mode of worship, attended by morality, where money is not concerned 
and scandal might be incurred, and a narrow, disproportionate oomributioa 



144 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, " 

By. We are so indeed ; but the men before us are so 
rigid, and love so much their own notions, and do also 
so lightly esteem the opinions of others, that let a man 
be ever so godly, yet if he jumps not with them in all 
things they thrust him quite out of their company. 

Save. That's bad; but we read of some that are 
righteous over much,* and such men's rigidness pre- 
vails with them to judge and condemn all but them- 
selves ; but I pray what and how many were the 
things wherein you differed ? 

By. Why they, after their headstrong manner, con- 
clude that it is their duty to rush on their journey all 
weathers ; and I am for waiting for wind and tide- 
They are for hazarding all for God at a clap, and I am 
for taking all advantages to secure my life and estate. 
They are for holding their notions, though all other 
men be against them ; but I am for religion in what, 
and so far as the times and my safety will bear it. 
They are for religion when in rags and contempt ; but 
I am for him when he walks in his golden slippers, in 
the sunshine, and with applause. 

Hold. Aye, and hold you t there still, good Mr. By- 

from their abundance, to support the interest of a society or a party. Thus 
the " vile person is called liberal, and the churl is said to be bountitul ;" and 
the idolatry of worshipping money has seldom been execrated equally with 
that of those, " whose god is their belly ;" unless when it has been so enor- 
mous as to become a kind of insanity. The most frugal support of religions 
worship, with the most disinterested pastors and managers, is attended with 
an expense, that the poor of die nock are utterly unable to defray. By this 
opening, Hold-the-world and Money-love frequently obtain admission 
among pilgrims, and acquire undue influence in their concerns. And 
when the effect of remaining selfishness in the hearts of true believei-3, 
insinuating itself under the specious plea of prudence and necessity, and 
the ill consequences of unsound professors associating with them, axe 
considered ; with the censure that must fall upon a few"obscure individu- 
als who attempt to stem such a torrent : it will appear evident, that the 
rich, and they who are growing rich, have more need of self-examination 
and jealousy over their own hearts than any other persons ; because they 
will be less plainly warned and reproved, in public and private, than any 
of their inferiors. 

* " Over much"— This expression of Solomon was probably intended 
to caution us against excessive zeal for some detached parts of religion to 
the neglect of others, or against superstitious austerities and enthusiastical 
delusions, or any extremes, which always lead men off from vital godli- 
ness ; but it is the constant plea of those, who neglect the most essential 
duties of their place and station, to avoid the cross, and preserve their 
worldly interests; and thus " they wrest the Scriptures to their own da. 
struction. " 

t "And hold you"— This dialogue is not at all more absurd and selfish 
than the discourse of many who attend on the preaching of the Gospel, and 
expect to be thought believers. They connect " the wisdom of the serpent" 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 145 

ends ; for my part, I can count him but a fool, that 
having the liberty to keep what he has, shall be so un- 
wise as to lose it. Let us be wise as serpents ; it is 
best to make hay when the sun shines ; you see how 
the bee lieth still in winter, and bestirs her only when 
she can have profit with pleasure. God sends some- 
times rain and sometimes sunshine ; if they be such 
fools to go through the first, yet let us be content to 
take fair weather along with us. For my part, I like 
that religion best that will stand with the security of 
God's good blessings unto us ; for who can imagine, 
that is ruled by his reason, since God has bestowed 
upon us the good things of this life, but that he would 
have us keep them for his sake ? Abraham and Solo- 
mon grew rich in religion. And Job says, that a good 
man " shall lay up gold as dust." But he must not be 
such as the men before us, if they be as you have 
described them. 

Save. I think that we are all agreed in this matter, 
and therefore there needs no more words about it. 

Money. No, there needs no more words about this 
matter indeed ; for he that believes neither scripture 
nor reason, (and you see we have both on our side,) 
neither knows his own liberty, nor seeks his own 
safety. 

By. My brethren, we are, you see, going all on pil- 
grimage, and for our better diversion from things that 
are bad, give me leave to propound unto you this 
question: 

Suppose a man, a minister, or a tradesman, &c; 
should have an advantage lie before him, to get the 
good blessings of this life, yet so as that he can by no 
means come by them, except, in appearance at least, 

with his craft and malice, not with the harmlessness of the dove : if worldly 
lucre be the honey, they imitate the bee, and only attend to religion when 
they can gain by it ; they cut and shape their creed and conduct to suit 
the times, and to please those among whom they - live; they determine to 
keep what they have at any rate, and to get more, if it can be done without 
cpen scandal ; never seriously recollecting, that they are mere stewards 
of providential advantages, of which a strict account must at last be given ; 
and. instead of willingly renouncing or expending them, for the Lord ; s 
sake, when his providence or commandment requires it, they determine 
to hord them up for themselves and families, or to spend them in worldly 
indulgences ; and then quote and pervert Scripture to varnish over .this 
base idolatry. 

7 



146 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

lie becomes extraordinary zealous in some points of 
religion that he meddled not with before— may he not 
use this means to attain his end, and yet be a right 
honest man ? 

Money. I see the bottom of your question ; and, with 
these gentlemen's good leave, I will endeavour to 
shape you an answer. And first, to speak to your 
question, as it concerns a minister I imself. Suppose * 
a minister, a worthy man, possessed but of a very 
small benefice, and has in his eyes a greater, more fat 
and plump by far : he has also Dew 41 opportunity of 
getting of it, yet so as by being more studious, by 
preaching more frequently and zealously, and, because 
the temper of the people requires it, by altering of 
some of Ins principles : for my part, I see no reason but 
a man may do this, provided he has a call, ay, and 
more a great deal besides, and yet be an honest man. 
For w 

1. His desire of a greater benefice is lawful ; this can- 
not be contradicted, since it is set before t him by 

* " Suppose" — There is a fund of satirical humour in the supposed case 
pei'e stated with such gravity ; and if the author in bis accurate observa- 
tions on mankind selected bis example from among die mercenaries that 
are the scandal of the established church, her most faidiful friends will not 
greatly resent this conduct of a dissenter. The worthy clergyman seeks 
first (not " the kingdom of God and his righteousness." or the glory of God 
in die salvation of "souls, but) a rich benefice : to attain this primary object 
mtaiis must be used : and hypocridcal pretensions to diligence, zeal, piety, 
widi some change of doctrine merely to please men, seem most likely to 
succeed :. and so this most base, prevaricating, selfish, and ungodly plan ia 
adopted f In how many thousands of instances has this been an awful 
reality ! How often has it been pleaded for, as prudent and laudable, by 
men» not only pretending to common honesty and sincerity, but calling 
themselves the disciples of Jesus Christ ! 

\ "Set before 1 ' — God permits Satan to bait his hook with some worldly 
advantage, in order to induce men to renounce then profession, expose 
their hypocrisy, or diserace die Gospel ; and they, poor deluded mortals ! 
call it '" an opening of iProvidence." The Lord indeed puis die object in 
dieir way. if they mil break his commandments in order to seize upon it r 
but he does it to prove them, and to show whether they most love him or 
their worldly interests ; but the devil thus tempts them, that he may " take 
them captive at hs will. :: The arguments here adduced, by an admirable 
imitation of die pleas used aniong~unsound professors, are only valid on 
the supposition that religion is a mere external appearance, and has nothing 
to do with the state of the heart and affections ; and in short, dial hypocrisy 
and piety are words precisely of the same meaning. Upon the whole, the 
answer of Christian, though somewhat rough, is so apposite and conclusive, 
that it is sufficient to fortify every honest and attentive mind against all the 
arguments which the whole tribe of time-serving professors ever did or ever 
am adduce in support of their ingenious schemes and assiduous efforts to 
reconcile religion with covetousness and the love of the world, or to rendet 
k subservient to (heir secular interests.. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 147 

Providence ; so then he may get it if he can, making 
no question for conscience-sake. 

2. Besides, his desire after that benefice makes him 
more studious, a more zealous preacher, &c. ; and so 
makes him a better man ; yea, makes him better im- 
prove his parts ; which is according to the mind of 
God. [f ; 

3. Now, as for the complying with the temper of 
his people, by deserting, to serve them, some of his 
principles, thi-o. ,- gueth that he is of a self-denying 
temper, of a sweet and winning deportment ; and so 
more fit for the ministerial functions. 

4. I conclude, then, that a minister that changes a 
small for a great should not, for so doing, be judged as 
covetous ; but rather, since he is improved in his 
parts and industry thereby, be counted as one that pur- 
sues his call, and the opportunity put into his hand to 
do good. 

And now to the second part of the question, which 
concerns the tradesman you mentioned : suppose such 
an one to have but a poor employ in the world ; but by 
becoming religious he may mend his market, perhaps 
get a rich wife, or more and far better customers to 
his shop. For my part, I see no reason but this may 
be lawfully done. For why ? 

1. To become religious is a virtue, by what means 
soever a man becomes so. 

2. Nor is it unlawful to get a rich wife, or more cus- 
tom to my shop. 

3. Besides, the man that gets these by becoming re- 
ligious, gets that which is good, of them that are good, 
by becoming good himself; so then here is a good wife, 
and good customers, and good gain, and all these by 
becoming religious, which is good: therefore, to be- 
come religious to get all these is a good and profitable 
design. 

This answer, thus made by this Mr. Money-love to 
jtfr. By-end's question, was highly applauded by them 
all ; wherefore they concluded upon the whole, that it 
was most wholesome and advantageous. And because, 
as they thought, no man was able to contradict it, and 
because Christian and Hopeful were yet within call, 



143 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

they jointly agreed to assault therri with this question 
as soon as they overtook them ; and the rather, because 
they had opposed Mr. By-ends before. So they called 
after them, and they stopped and stood still till they 
came up to them : but they concluded, as they went, 
that not Mr. By-ends, but old Mr. Hold-the-world 
should propound the question to them ; because, as 
they supposed, their answer to Mm would be without 
the remainder of that heat that was kindled between 
Mr. By-ends and them at their parting a little before. 

So they came up to each other, and after a short 
salutation, Mr. Hold-the-world propounded the question 
to Christian and his fellow, and bid them to answer it 
if they could. 

Then said Christian, Even a babe in religion may 
answer ten thousand such questions. For if it be un- 
lawful to follow Christ for loaves, as it is, John vi, 
how much more is it abominable to make of him and 
religion a stalking-horse to get and enjoy the world ? 
Nor do we find any other than heathens, hypocrites, 
devils, and witches, that are of this opinion. 

Heathens : for when Hamor and Shechem had a 
mind to the daughter and cattle of Jacob, and saw that 
there were no ways for them to come at them, but by 
becoming circumcised, they say to their companions, 
" If every male of us be circumcised, as they are cir- 
cumcised, shall not their cattle, and their substance, 
and every beast of theirs, be ours ?" Their daughters 
and their cattle were that which they sought to obtain, 
and their religion the stalking-horse they made use of 
to come at them. Read the whole story, Gen. xxxiv, 
20—24. 

The hypocritical Pharisees were also of this reli- 
gion : long prayers were their pretence, but to get 
widows' houses was their intent, and greater damna- 
tion was from God their judgment, (Luke xx, 46, 47.) 

Judas the devil was also of this religion: he was 
religious for the bag, that he might be possessed of 
what was therein ; but he was lost, a cast-away, and 
the very son of perdition. 

Simon the witch was of this religion too ; for he 
would have had the Holy Ghost that he might have got 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 149 

money therewith ; and his sentence from Peter's mouth 
was accordingly, (Acts viii, 18—23.) 

Neither will it out of my mind, but that that man, 
that takes up religion for the world, will throw away 
religion for the world ; for so surely as Judas designed 
the world in becoming religious, so surely did he also 
sell religion and his master for the same. To answer 
the question therefore affirmatively, as I perceive you 
have done, and to accept of, as authentic, such answer, 
is both heathenish, hypocritical, and develish; and 
your reward will be according to your works. Then 
they stood staring one upon another, but had not where- 
with to answer Christian. Hopeful also approved of 
the soundness of Christian's answer ; so there was a 
great silence among them. Mr. By-ends and his com- 
pany also staggered and kept behind, that Christian 
and Hopeful might out-go them. Then said Christian 
to his fellow, If these men cannot stand before the sen- 
tence of men, what will they do with the sentence of 
God ? And, if they are mute when dealt with by ves- 
sels of clay, what will they do when they shall be re 
buked by the flames of a devouring fire ? 

Then Christian and Hopeful outwent them again, 
and went till they came to a delicate * plain, called 
Ease, where they went with much content ; but that 
plain was but narrow, so they were quickly got over 
it. Now at the farther side of that plain was a little 
hill, called Lucre, and in that hill a silver mine, which 
some of them that had formerly gone that way, because 
of the rarity of it, had turned aside to see ; but going 
too near the brim of the pit, the ground, being deceit- 
ful under them, broke, and they were slain : some 
also had been maimed there, and could not to their 
dying day be their own men again. 

Then I saw in my dream, that a little off the road, 

' * " Delicate"— When the church enjoys great outward peace (which has 
hitherto been generally but a transient season) professors are peculiarly 
exposed to the temptation of seeking worldly riches and distinctions, which 
at other times seem too remote to have much attractive influence ; and many 
of them are more disconcerted and disposed to murmur, when excluded 
from a share of these idolized prizes, than Christians in general appear to 
have been under the most cruel persecutions. The hill Lucre witii the silver 
mine is a little out of the pilgrim's path, even in times of the greatest out* 
ward rest and security. 



150 

over against the silver niine, stood* Demas (gentle- 
manlike,) to call passengers to come and see ; who 
said to Christian and his fellow, Ho ! turn aside hither, 
and I will shew you a thing. 

* " Stood"— We know not in what way the love of this present world 
influenced Demas to forsake Si. Paul : yet our author is fully warranted vn 
thus using his name, and afterwards joining it with those of Gehazi, Judas, 
and others, who perished by the same idolatry. The love of money is not 
always connected with the desire of covetously hoarding it : it often arises 
from a vain affectation of gentility, which is emphatically implied by the 
epithet bestowed on Demas (gentlemanlike.) The connexions that profes- 
sors form in a day of ease and prosperity, and the example of the world 
around them (without excepting some of those who would be thought to 
love the Gospel,) seduce them insensibly into a style of living that they 
cannot afford, in order to avoid the imputation of being sordid and singular. 
An increasing family ensures additional expense ; and children genteelly 
educated naturally expect to be provided for accordingly. Thus debts are 
contracted, and gradually accumulate ; it is neither so easy or so reputable 
to retrench, as it was to launch out ; and numerous tempters induce men 
thus circumstanced to turn aside to the hill Lucre ; that is. to leave the direct 
path of probity and piety, that they may obtain supplies to their urgent and 
clamorous necessities. Young persons, when they first set out in life, often 
lay the foundation for innumerable evils, by vainly emulating the expensive 
style of those in the same line of business, or the same rankln the commu- 
nity ; who are enabled to support such expenses, eidier by extensive deal- 
ings, or by means that ought not to be used. Besides the bankruptcies which 
continually originate from diis mistaken conduct, it is often found, that fair 

})rofits are inadequate to uphold that appearance which was at first need- 
essly assumed ; and so necessity is pleaded for engaging in diose branches 
of trade, or seizing on those emoluments, which "the conduct of worldly 
people screen from total scandal, but which are evidently contrary to the 
word of God, and die plain rule of exact truth and rectitude, and which 
render their consciences very uneasy. But who can bear the mortification 
of owning himself poorer than he was thought to be? Who dare risk the 
consequences of being suspected to be insolvent? Professors in these cir- 
cumstances are as likely to embrace Demas' invitation, as either By-ends, 
Money-love, or Save-all ; and if they be i: not drowned in destruction and 
perdition," will " fall into temptation and a snare, and pierce themselves 
through with many sorrows. " Men should therefore consider, that it is as 
unjust to contract debts for superfluous indulgences, or to obtain credit by 
false appearances of affluence, as it is to defraud by any other imposition ; 
and that this dishonesty makes way for innumerable temptations to more 
disgraceful species of the same crime ; not to speak of its absolute inconsis- 
tency with piety and charity. But none are so much exposed to this snare 
as ministers and their families, when, having no private fortune, they are 
6ituated among the affluent and genteel : by yielding to this temptation, 
they are often incapacitated from paying their debts with punctuality: they 
are tempted to degrade their office by stooping to unsuitable methods of 
extricating themselves out of difficulties, from which strict frugality would 
have preserved diem, and by laying themselves under obligations to such 
men as are capable of abusing this purchased superiority ; and, above all, 
they are generally induced to place their cliildren in situations and connex- 
ions, the most unfavourable to die interests of their souls, in order to pro- 
cure them a genteel provision. If we form a judgment upon this subject 
from the Holy Scriptures, we shall not think of finding the true ministers 
of God among the higher classes in die community, in matters of external 
appearance or indulgence. That information on a variety of subjects, 
which many of them have the opportunity of acquiring, may render them 
acceptable company to the affluent, especially to sucli as love diem for dieir 
works' sake; and even the exercise ot Chrisuau tempera will improve tha 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 151 

■Chr. What thing so deserving as to turn us out of 
the way to see it ? 

Demas. Here is a silver mine, and some digging in it 
for treasure ; if you will come, with, a little pains you 
may richly provide for yourselves. 

Then said Hopeful, Let us * go see. 

Not I, said Christian, I have heard of this place be- 
fore now, and how many there have been slain ; and 
besides, that treasure is a snare to those that seek it, 
for it hinder eth them in their pilgrimage. 

Then Christian called to Demas, saying, is not the 

•urban ity acquired by a liberal education , where faithfulness is not concerned. 
But if a minister thinks, that the attention of the great or noble requires him 
to copy their expensive style of living, he grievously mistakes the matter.: 
for this will forfeit the opinion before entertained of his good, sense and 
regard to propriety ; and his official declarations concerning the vanity of 
earthly things, and the Christian's indifference about them, will be suspected 
of insincerity, while it is observed, that he conforms to the world, as far or 
even farther than the circumstances will admit : and thus respect will often 
be changed into disgust ; for the affluent do not choose to be too closely 
copied in those things which they deem their exclusive privileges, especially 
by one who (they must think) secretly depends on them to defray the ex- 
pense of such an intrusive competition. The consistent minister of Christ 
will certainly desire to avoid every thing mean and sordid, and to retrench 
in eveiy other way rather than exhibit the appearance of penury : but, 
provided he and his family can maintain a decent simplicity, and the credit 
of punctuality in his payments, he will not think of aspiring any higher. 
If, in order to do this, he be compelled to exercise considerable seif-dema!, 
lie will think little of it, while he looks more to Jesus and his apostles, than 
to the few of a superior rank who profess the Gospel : and could he afford 
something genteel and fashionable, he would deem it more desirable to devote 
a larger portion to pious and charitable uses, than to squander it in such 
a vain affectation. Perhaps Satan never carried a more important point, 
within the visible church, than when the opinion was adopted, that tLe 
clergy were gentlemen by profession, and he led them to infer from it, that 
they and their families ought to live in a genteel and fashionable style. As 
the body of the clergy have been mostly but slenderly provided for, when 
they were dius taught to imitate the appearance of the affluent, the most 
effectual step was taken to reduce them to an abject, state of dependance ; 
to convert them into parasites and flatterers ; to render them very indulgent 
to the vices of the rich and great ; or even to tempt them to become the, 
instruments of accomplishing their ambitious or licentious designs: and no 
small part of the selfishness and artifices of the clergy, which are now made 
a pretext for abolishing the order, and even for renouncing Cliristianity, 
have in fact originated from this fatal mistake. In proportion as the same 
principle is adopted by ministers of any description, similar effects will 
follow; and adegree of dependance, inconsistent with unembarrassed faith- 
fulness, must be the consequence : nor can we in all cases, and without 
respect of persons, "declare the whole counsel of God," unless we be 
willing, if required, to be. and appear as, the poor followers of him " who 
had not where to lay his head. " 

* " Let us"— Inexperienced believers are very liable to be seduced by the 
example and persuasions of hypocrites ; and to deviate from the direct path, 
in order to obtain worldly advantages, by means that many deem fair and 
honourable. In this case the counsel and warnings of an experienced 
companion are of the greatest moment. 



152 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

place dangerous ? hath it not hindered many in their 
pilgrimage ? 

Bemas. Not very dangerous, except to those that are 
careless. But withal he blushed as he spake. 

Then said Christian to Hopeful, let us not stir a step, 
but still keep on our way. 

Hope. I will warrant you, when By-ends comes up, 
if he hath the same invitations as we, he will turn in 
thither to see. 

Chr. No doubt thereof, for his principles lead him 
that way, and a hundred to one but he dies there. 

Then Demas called again, saying, But will you not 
come over and see ? 

Then Christian roundly answered, saying, Demas, 
thou art an enemy to the right ways of the Lord of this 
way, and hast been already condemned for thine own 
turning aside, by one of his majesty's judges, (2 Tim. 
iv, 10 ;) and why seekest thou to bring us into the like 
condemnation 7 besides, if we at all turn aside, our 
Lord the king will certainly hear thereof, and will 
there put us to shame, where we should stand with 
boldness before him. 

Demas cried again, that he also was one of their fra- 
ternity ; and that if they would tarry a little he also 
himself would walk with them. 

Then said Christian, What is thy name ? Is it not 
the same by which I have called thee ? 

Bemas. Yes, my name is Demas ; I am the son of 
Abraham. 

Chr. I know you : Gehazi was your great grand- 
father, and Judas your father, and you have trod in 
their steps ; it is but a develish prank that thou usest : 
thy father was hanged for a traitor, and thou deservest 
no better reward, (2 Kings v, 20 — 27 ; Matt, xxvi, 14, 
15 ; xxvii, 3—5.) Assure thyself, that when we come 
to the king we will do him word of this thy behaviour. 
Thus they went their way. 

By this time By-ends and his companions were come 
again within sight, and they, at the first beck, went 
over to Demas. Now, whether they fell into the pit by- 
looking over the brink thereof, or whether they went 
down to dig, or whether they were smothered in the 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES- 153 

bottom by the damps that commonly arise, of these 
•things I am not certain ; but this I observed, that they 
never were seen again in the way. Then sang 
Christian :— 

By-ends and silver Demas did agree ; 
One calls, the other runs, that he may be 
A sharer in his lucre ; so these do 
Take up in this world, and no father go. 

Now I saw, that, just on the other side of this plain, 
the pilgrims came to a place where stood an old monu- 
ment hard by the highway side, at the sight of which 
they were both concerned, because of the strangeness 
of the form thereof, for it seemed to them as if it had 
been a woman transformed into the shape of a pillar* 
Here, therefore, they stood looking and looking upon it, 
but could not for a time tell what they should make 
thereof: at last Hopeful spied written upon the head 
thereof, a writing in an unusual hand ; but he, being 
no scholar^ called to Christian, (for he was learned,) to 
see if he could pick out the meaning : so he came, and 
after a little laying of the letters together, he found 
the same to be this, " Remember Lot's wife." So he 
read it to his fellow ; after which they both concluded, 
that that was the pillar of salt into which Lot's wife 
was turned, for looking back with a covetous heart 
when she was going from Sodom for safety, (Gen. xrsr, 
26.) Which sudden and amazing sight gave them 
occasion of this discourse. 

Chr. Ah, my brother ! this is a seasonable sight : it 
came opportunely to us after the invitation which De- 
mas gave us to come over to view the hill Lucre ; and 
had we gone over, as he desired us, and as thou wast 
inclined to do, my brother, we had, for aught I know, 
been made like this woman, a spectacle for those that 
shall come after to behold. 

Hope. I am sorry that I was so foolish, and am made 
to wonder that I am not now as Lot's wife ; for where- 
in was the difference betwixt her sin and mine ! she 
only looked back, and I had a desire to go see : let 
grace be adored, and let me be ashamed that ever such 
a thing should be in mine heart. 



154 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Chr Let us take notice of what we see here for our 
help for time to come ; this woman escaped one judg- 
ment, for she fell not by the destruction of Sodom ; yet 
she was destroyed by another, as we see she is turned 
into a pillar of salt. 

Hope. True, and she may be to us both caution and 
example ; caution, that we should shun her sin ; or a 
sign of what judgment will overtake such as shall not 
be prevented by such caution : so Corah, Dathan, and 
Abiram, with the two hundred and fifty men that pe- 
rished in their sin, did also become a sign or example 
to beware, (Numb, xxvi, 9, 10.) But above * all, I muse 
at one thing, to wit, how Demas and his fellows can 
stand so confidently yonder to look for that treasure, 
which this woman, but for looking behind her after 
(for we read not that she stept one foot out of the way,) 
was turned into a pillar of salt ; especially since the 
judgment which overtook her did make her an example 
within sight of where they are ; for they cannot choose 
but see her, did they but lift up their eyes. 

Chr. It is a thing to be wondered at, and it argueth 
that their hearts are grown desperate in that case ; and 
I cannot tell whom to compare them to so fitly, as to 
them that pick pockets in the presence of the judge, or 
that will cut purses under the gallows. It is said of 
the men of Sodom, that "they were sinners exceeding- 
ly," because they were sinners " before the Lord," that 
is, in his eyesight, and notwithstanding the kindnesses 
that he had showed them; for the land of Sodom was 
now like the garden of Eden heretofore, (Gen. xiii, 10 
— 13.) This therefore provoked him the more to jea- 
lousy, and made their plague as hot as the fire of the 
Lord out of heaven could make it. And it is most ratio- 



* t: But above"— It is indeed most wonderful, that men, who profess to 
believe the Bible, can so confidently attempt to reconcile the love of the 
world with the service of God ; when die instructions, warnings, and exam- 
ples in Scripture, which show the fatal consequences of such endeavours, 
are so numerous, express, and atiecting ! If Lot's wife, who merely hank- 
ered after the possessions she had left" behind in Sodom, and looked back 
with a design of returning, was made a monument of the Lord's vengeance, 
and a warning to all future ages, what will be the doom of those professors 
of the Gospel who habitually prefer worldly gain, or the vain pomp and 
indulgence that may be purchased with it, to the honour of Christ, and 
obedience to his most reasonable commandments ? The true cause of this 
infatuation is here assigned. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 155 

nally to be concluded, that such, even such as these 
are, they that shall sin in the sight, yea, and that too 
in despite of such examples that are set continually be- 
fore them to caution them to the contrary, must be 
partakers of the severest judgments. 

Hope. Doubtless thou hast said the truth ; but what 
a mercy is it, that neither thou, but especially I, am not 
made myself this example ! This ministereth occasion. 
to us to thank God, to fear before him, and always to 
" remember Lot's wife." 

I saw then that they went on their way to a pleasant 
river, which David, the king, called " the river of God," 
but John, " the river of the water of life," (Ps. lxv, 9 ; 
Ezek. xlvii; Rev. xxii, I.) Now their way lay just 
upon the bank of the river : here therefore Christian 
and his companion walked with great delight: they 
drank also of the water of the river, which was plea- 
sant,* and enlivening to their weary spirits. Besides, 
on the banks of this river, on either side, were green 
trees for all manner of fruit ; and the leaves they ate 
to prevent surfeits, and other diseases that are inci- 
dent to those that heat their blood by travels. On either 



* " Pleasant" — When Abraham had given place to his nephew Lot, and 
receded from his interest for the credit of his religion, he was immediately 
favoured with a most encouraging- vision, (Gen. xiii.) Thus the pilgrims, 
having been enabled to resist the temptation to turn aside for lucre, were 
indulged with more abundant spiritual consolations, (Mark x, 23—30.) 
The Holy Spirit, the inexhaustible source of life, light, holiness, and joy, 
is represented by " the river of God, even that river of the water of life, 
clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God, and of the Lamb," 
(Rev. xxii, 1.) All believers partake of his sacred influences, which pre- 
pare the soul for heavenly felicity, and are earnests and pLedges of it : but 
there are seasons when he communicates his holy comforts in larger mea- 
sure: when the Christian sees such glory in the salvation of Christ, so 
clearly ascertains Ms interest in it, and realizes his obligations and privileges 
with such lively exercises of adoring love, gratitude, and joy, that he is 
raised above his darkness and difficulties ; enjoys sweet communion with 
God ; forgets, for the moment, the pain of former conflicts, and the prospect 
of future trials ; finds his inbred corruptions reduced to a state of subjection, 
and his maladies healed by lively exercises of faith in the Son of God ; and 
anticipates with unspeakable delight the glory that shall be revealed. 
Then communion with humble believers (the lilies that adorn the banks 
of the river) is very pleasant ; and the soul's rest in God and his service is 
safe as well as happy ; being widely different from every species of carnal 
security. Had this river meant the blessings of pardon, justification, and 
adoption, it would not have been thus occasionally introduced ; for these 
belong to believers at all times, without any interruption or variation ; but 
the more abundant consolations of the Spirit are not vouchsafed in the 
same manner, and on them the actual enjoyment of our privileges in a 
great measure depends. 



150 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

side of the river was also a meadow, curiously beauti- 
fied with lilies ; and it was green all the year long-, 
this meadow they lay down and slept : for here they 
might lie down safely, (Ps. xxiii; Isa. xiv. 30.) When 
they awoke they gathered again of the fruits of the 
trees, and drank again of the water of the river, and 
then lay down again to sleep. Thus they did several 
days and nights. Then they sang: — 

Behold ye how those crystal streams do glide 
To comfort pilgrims by the highway side. 
The meadows green, besides the fragrant smell, 
Yield dainties for them : and he that can tell 
What pleasant fruits, yea leaves, these trees do yield, 
Will soon sell all that he may buy this field. 

So when they were disposed to go on, (for they were 
not as yet at their journey's end,) they ate, and drank, 
and departed. 

Now I beheld in my dream, that they had not jour- 
neyed far, but the river and the way for a time parted ; 
at which they were not a little sorry, yet they durst 
not go out of the way. Now the way * from the river 
was rough, and their feet tender by reason of their 

* (t Now the way"— Believers, even when in the path of duty, walking 
by faith, and supported by the sanctifying influences of the Spirit, may be 
abridged of diose holy consolations which they have experienced ; and 
if this trial be accompanied with temporal losses, poverty, sickness, the 
unkindness of friends, or ill usage from the worlds they may be greatly 
discouraged ; and Satan may have a special advantage in tempting them 
to discontent, distrust, envy, or coveting. Thus, being more disposed to 
" wish for a better way," than to pray earnestly for an increase of faidi and 
patience, they will be tempted to look out for some method of declining 
die cross', or shifting the difficulty which wearies them: nor will it be long 
before some expedient for a temporary relief will be suggested. The path 
of duty being rough, a bye-path is discovered, which seems to lead the same 
way : but, if they will thus turn aside (though they need not break through 
a hedge) they must go over a stile. The commandments of God mark out 
the path of holiness and safety : but a deviation from the exact strictness 
of them may sometimes be plausibly made, and circumstances seem to 
invite to it. Men imagine some providential interposition, giving ease to 
the weary : and they think that the precept may he interpreted with some 
latitude ; that prudence should lie exercised ; and that scrupulousness about 
little things is a mark of legality. Thus, by leaning to their own under- 
standing and trusting in their own hearts, instead of asking counsel of the 
Lord, they hearken to the tempter. Nor is it uncommon for Christians of 
deeper experience, and more established reputation, to mislead their juniors, 
by turning aside from die direct line of obedience. For the Lord leaves 
them to themselves to repress dieir self-confidence, and keep diem entirely 
dependent on him : and thus teaches young converts to follow uo man far- 
ther than he follows Christ. 



t 

ey 
en 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 157 

travels ; so the souls of the pilgrims were much dis- 
€ouraged because of the way, (Numb, xxi, 4.) Where- 
fore still as they went on they wished for a better way. 
Now a little before them, there was on the left hand 
of the road a meadow, and a stile to go over into it ; 
and that meadow is called By-path-meadow. Then 
said Christian to his fellow, If this meadow lieth along 
by our way-side, let us go over into it. Then he went 
to the stile to see, and behold a path lay along by the 
way on the other side of the fence. 'Tis according to 
my wish, said Christian, here is the easiest going; 
come, good Hopeful, and let us go over. 

Hope. But how if this path should lead us out of the 
way? 

That's not like, said the other. Look,* doth it not 
go along by the way-side ? So Hopeful, being persuaded 
by his fellow, went after him over the style. When 
they were gone over, and were got into the path, they 
found it very easy for their feet; and withal, they, 
looking before them, spied a man walking as they did, 
and his name was Vain-confidence : so they called after 
him, and asked him whither that way led ? He said, to 
the celestial gate. Look, said Christian, did not I tell 
you so 1 by this you may see we are right : so they fol- 
lowed, and he went before them. But behold the 
night came on, and it grew very dark ; so that they that 
went behind lost the sight of him that went before. 

He therefore that went before, (Vain-confidence by 
name,) not seeing the way before him, fell* into a deep 

* " Look"— It would not be politic in Satan to tempt believers at first to 
flagrant crimes, at which their hearts would revolt : but he draws them 
aside, under specious pretences, into such plausible deviations as seem to 
be of no bad repute or material consequence : but every wrong step makes 
way for farther temptations, and tends to render other sins apparently 
necessary ; and if it be a deliberate violation of the least precept in the 
smallest instance, from carnal motives, it involves such self-will, unbelief, 
ingratitude, and worldly idolatry, as will most certainly expose the believer 
to sharp rebukes and painful corrections. The example also of professors, 
of whom perhaps at the first interview too favourable an opinion has been 
formed, helps to bolster up the vain-confidence of him who has departed 
from the path of obedience : for these men express the strongest assurance, 
and venture to violate the precepts of Christ, under pretence of honouring 
his free grace, and knowing their liberty and privilege ! But darkness must 
soon envelop those who follow such guides, and the most extreme distress 
and danger are directly in the way they take. 

t " Fell"— This circumstance perhaps represents the salutary effects which 
we sometimes produced in the hearts of offending believers, by the awful 



158 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

pit, (Isa. ix, 16,) which was on purpose there made by 
the prince of those grounds, to catch vain-glorious fools 
withal, and was dashed in pieces with his fall. 

Now Christian and his fellow heard him fall : so they 
called to know the matter ; but there was none to an- 
swer, only they heard a groaning. Then said Hopeful, 
Where are we now ? Then was his fellow silent, as 
mistrusting that he had led him out of the way ; and 
now* it began to rain, and thunder, and lighten, in a 
most dreadful manner; and the water rose amain. 

Then Hopeful groaned in himself, saying, Oh that I 
had kept on my way ! 

Chr. Who could have thought that this path should 
have led us out of the way ? 

Hope. I was afraid on't at the very first, and there- 
fore gave you that gentle caution. I would ha\ r e spoke 
plainer, but you are older than I. 
. Chr. Good brother, be not offended; I am sorry I 
.have brought thee out of the way, and that I have put 
thee into such imminent danger : pray, my brother, for- 
give me ; I did not do it of an evil intent. 

Hope. Be comforted, my brother, for I forgive thee ; 
and believe, too, that this shall be for good. 

Chr. I am glad I have with me a merciful brother ; 
but we must not stand thus ; let us try to go back 
again. 

Hope. But, good brother, let me go before. 

Chr. No, if you please, let me go first, that if there 
be any danger I may be first therein ; because by my 
means we are both gone out of the way. 



death of some vain-glorious professor, to whom they have given too much 
attention. The Lord, however, will deliver his servants from the temp orary 
prevalence of vain-confidence, while presumptuous hypocrites perish in the 
pit of darkness and despair. 

* " And now"— The holy law condemns every transgression : when the 
Christian, therefore, hath fallen into any wilful sin, he is often led to fear 
that his faith is dead, that he is still under die law, and that his person is 
condemned by it as well as his conduct ; and dius he is brought back again, 
as it were, to die tempest, thunder, and lightning of mount Sinai. The 
following dialogue is very natural and instructive, and exhibits that spirit 
of mutual tenderness, forbearance, and sympathy, which becomes Chris- 
tians in such perplexing circumstances. They, who have misled others 
into sin, should not only ask forgiveness of God, but of them also ; and 
they, who have been drawn aside "by the example and persuasion of their 
brethren, should be careful not to upbraid ox discourage diem, wbeo they 
become sensible of their fault. 



WITH SCOTTS NOTES. 159 

No, said Hopeful, you shall not go first ; for your 
"mind being troubled may lead you out of the way again. 
Then, for their encouragement, they heard the voice 
of one saying, " Let thine heart * be towards the high- 
way ; even the way that thou wentest : turn again," 
(Jer. xxxi. 21.) But by this time the waters were 
greatly risen, by reason of which the way of going back 
was very dangerous. (Then I thought, that it is easier 
going out of the way when we were in, than going in 
when we are out.) Yet they adventured to go back; 
but it was so dark, and the flood was so high, that in 
their going back they had like to have been drowned 
nine or ten times. 

Neither could they, with all the skill they had, get 
again to the stile that night. Wherefore at last, light- 
ing under a little shelter,! they set down there till the 

* " Let thine" — When such as have turned aside are called upon in 
Scripture to return to God and his ways, the exhortation implies a promise 
of acceptance to all who comply with it, and may be considered as imme- 
diately addressed to every one with whose character and situation it corres- 
ponds. It might be thought indeed, that an experienced believer, when 
convinced of any sin, would find little difficulty in returning to his duty, and 
recovering his peace. But experience inculcates a very different instruc- 
tion : a deliberate transgression, however trivial it might seem at the moment, 
appears upon the retrospect to be an act of most ungrateful and aggravated 
rebellion ; so that it brings such darkness upon the soul, and guilt on the 
conscience, as frequently causes a man to suspect that his experiences have 
been a delusion. And, when he would attempt to set out anew, it occurs 
to him, that if all his past endeavours and expectations, for many years, 
have been frustrated, he can entertain iitde hope of better success hereafter ; 
as he knows not how to use other means, or greater earnestness, than he 
hath already employed to no purpose. Nor will Satan ever fail, in these 
circumstances, to pour in such suggestions as may overwhelm die soul with 
an apprehension that the case is hopeless, and God inexorable. The believer 
will not, indeed, be prevailed upon by these discourag ements wholly to 
neglect all attempts to recover his ground ; but he will often resemble a man 
who is groping in die dark and cannot find his way, or who is passing 
through a deep and rapid stream, and struggling hard to keep his head 
above water. Thus the desire of present relief from intolerable distress 
will occupy his thoughts, and expose him to the danger of quieting his 
conscience in an unauthorized manner, by some erroneous opinion or con- 
clusion. 

t "Shelter" — When David had fallen into the depths of sin and distress, 
he cried most earnesdy to the Lord, (Ps. cxxx ;) and Jonah did the same 
in die fish's belly. Extraordinary cases require singular diligence ; even 
as greater exertion is necessary to get out of a pit than to walk upon level 
ground. When believers, therefore, have brought diemselves, by trans- 
gression, into great terror and anguish of conscience, it is foolish to expect 
that God will " restore to diem the joy of his salvation," till they have made 
the most unreserved confessions of their guilt, humbly deprecated his de- 
served wrath in persevering prayer, and used peculiar diligence in every 
thing that accompanies repentance and faith in Christ, and tends to greater 
watchfulness, circumspection, and self-denial. But they often seek relief 
in a more compendious way ; and, as they do not wholly omit their cusr 



160 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

daybreak; but being weary they fell asleep. Now 
there was, not far from the place where they lay, a cas- 
tle, called Doubting Castle, the owner whereof was 
giant Despair: and it was in his grounds they were 
now sleeping. "Wherefore he, getting up in. the morn- 



tomary religious exercises, or vindicate and repeat their transgressions, 
they endeavour to quiet themselves by general notions of God/s mercy 
through Jesus Christ, and the security of the new covenant ; and the storm: 
in iheir consciences subsiding, they " find a little shelter, 5 -' and " wait for a 
more convenient opportunity" of recovering their former life and vigour in 
religion. Indeed, the very circumstances which should excite ns to pecu- 
liar" earnestness, tend . through die depravity of our nature, to bliud and 
stupify the heart : Peter and die ether disciples "slept for sorrow,-*' when 
they were more especially required "to watch and pray, that they might 
not enter into temptation. " Such repeated sins and mistakes bring believers 
into deep distresses. Growing more and more heartless in religion, and 
insensible in a most perilous situation, they are led habitually tolnfer that 
they are hypocrites ; that the encouragements of Scripture belong not to 
them ; that prayer itself will be of no use to them-; and, when they are at 
length brought to reflection, they ate taken prisoners by Despair, and shut 
up in Doubting-castle- Tins case should be carefully distinguished from 
Christian's terrors in the city of Destruction, which induced him to " flee 
from the wrath to come f from the slough of Despond, into which he fell 
when diligendy seeking salvation ; from the burdien he carried to the cross ; 
from his conflict with Apollyon, and his troubles in die valley of the Shadow 
of death ; and even from die terrors that seized him and Hopeful in By-path- 
meadow, which would have speedily terminated if they had not slept on. 
forbidden ground, and stopped short of the refuge the Lord hath provided. 
Despair, like a tremendous giant, will at last seize on the souls of all unbe- 
lievers ; and when Christians conclude, from some aggravated and pertina- 
cious misconduct, that they belong to that company, even their acquaintance 
with the Scripture will expose them to be taken captive by him in this world. 
They do not indeed fall and perish with Vain-confidence ; but for a season 
they find it impossible to rise superior to prevailing gloomy doubts border- 
ing* on despair, or to obtain the least comfortable hope of deliverance, or 
encouragement to use the proper means of seeking it. Whenever we deli- 
berately quit the plain path ot duty, to avoid hardship and self-denial, we 
trespass on giant Despair's grounds ; and are never out of his reach till 
renewed exercises of deep repentance, and faidi hi Christ, producing unre- 
served obedience, especially in that instance where before we refused it, 
have set our feet in die highway we had forsaken. Tliis we cannot attain 
to without the special grace of God, which he may not see good immedi- 
ately to communicate : in the mean time every effort must be accompanied: 
with discouragement and distress ; but if we yield to another temptation, 
and, instead of persevering, amidst our anxious fears, to cry to him for 
help, and wait his time of showing mercy, endeavour to bolster up some 
false confidence, and take shelter in a refuge of lies, the event will be such 
as is here described. It will be hi vain, after such perverseness, to pretend 
that we have inadvertently mistaken our way ; " our own hearts will con- 
demn us ;" how dien can "we have confidence in God, who is greater than 
our hearts and knoweth aU things?" 1 The grim giant will prove too strong 
for us, and shuts us up in his noisome dungeon, and the recollection of our 
former hopes and comforts will only serve to aggravate our woe* Thsse 
lines are here inserted. 

" The pilgrims now, to gratify the flesh, 
Will seek its ease ; but, oh ! how they afresh 
Do diereby plunge themselves new griefs into ! 
Who seek to please the flesh themselves undo^ 5 * 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 161 

Ing early, and walking up and down in his fields, caught 
Christian and Hopeful asleep in his grounds. Then 
with a grim and surly voice he bid them awake, and 
asked them whence they were, and what they did in 
his grounds 1 They told him they were pilgrims, and 
that they had lost their way. Then said the giant, 
You have this night trespassed on me by trampling in T 
and lying on, my ground, and therefore you must go 
along with me. So they were forced to go, because 
he was stronger than they. They also had but little 
to say, for they knew themselves in a fault. The giant, 
therefore, drove them before him, and put them into 
his castle in a very dark dungeon, nasty and stinking 
to the spirits of these two men. Here then* they lay, 
from Wednesday morning till Saturday night, without 
one bit of bread, or drop of drink, or light or any to ask 
how they did : they were, therefore, here in evil case, 
and were far from friends and acquaintance, (Ps. 
Ixxxviii, 8.) Now in this place Christian had double 
sorrow, because it was through his unadvised counsel 
that they were brought into this distress. 

Now, giant t Despair had a wife, and her name was 
Diffidence ; so when he was gone to bed he told his 

* "Here then" — Perhaps this exact time was mentioned under the idea, 
that it was as long as life can generally be supported in the situation here 
described. The believer may be brought by wilful sin to such a condition, 
that, to his own apprehension, destruction is inevitable. If a man may 
sink so low as to have no light or comfort from God's word and Spirit, 
nothing to sustain his dying faith and hope, no help or pity from his brethren, 
but severe censures or more painful suspicions ; the horrors of an accusing 
conscience, the dread of God as an enemy, connected with sharp and mul- 
tiplied corrections in his outward circumstances ; as the price of the ease 
or indulgence obtained by some wilful transgression ; who, that believes it, 
will take encouragement to sin from the doctrine of final perseverance? 
Would a man, for a trivial gain, leap down a precipice, even if he could be 
sure that he should escape with his life ? No, the dread of the anguish of 
broken bones, and of being made a cripple to the end of his days, would 
effectually secure him from such a madness. 

j "Now giant"— Despair seldom fully seizes any man in this world ; 
and the strongest hold it can get of a true believer amounts only to a pre- 
vailing distrust, of God's promises, with respect to bis own case ; for this is 
accompanied with some small degree of latent hope, discoverable in its 
effects, though unperceived amidst the distressing feelings of the heart. 
Perhaps this was intended in the allegory by the circumstance of Despair's 
doing nothing to the pilgrims, save at the instance of his wife Diffidence. 
Desp'onding fears, when they so prevail as to keep men from prayer, make 
way for temptations to suicide, as the only relief to their miseries: but when 
true faith is in the heart, however it may seem to be wholly out of exercise, 
the temptation will be evidently overcome, provided actual insanity do not 
intervene ; and this is a very uncommon case among religious people, what- 



16* THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

-wife what he had done ; to wit, that he had taken a 
couple of prisoners, and cast them into his dungeon for 
trespassing on his grounds. Then he asked her also 
what he had best do farther to them. So she asked 
what they were, whence they came, and whither they 
were bound ; and he told her. Then she counselled 
him, that when he arose in the morning he should beat 
them without mercy. So when he arose, he getteth a 
grievous crab-tree cudgel, and goes down into the dun- 
geon to them, and there first falls to rating of them as 
if they were dogs, although they gave him never a 
word of distaste ; then he falls upon them, and beat 
them fearfully, in such sort that they were not able to 
help themselves, or turn them upon the floor. This 
-done he withdraws, and leaves them there to condole 
their misery, and to mourn under their distress ; so all 
that day they spent their time in nothing but sighs and 
bitter lamentations. The next night she talked with 
her husband about them farther, and understanding 
that they were yet alive, did advise him to counsel 
them to make away themselves ; so when morning was 
come, he goes to them in a surly manner as before, 
and perceiving them to be very sore with the stripes 
that he had given them the day before, he told them, 
that, since they were never like to come out of that 
place, their only way would be forthwith to make an 
end of themselves, either with knife, halter, or poison ; 
for why, said he, should you choose life, seeing it is 
attended with so much bitterness ? But they desired 
him to let them go ; with that lie looked ugly upon 
them, and rushing to them, had doubtless made an end 
of them himself, but that he fell into one of his fits^ 
(for he sometimes in sunshiny weather fell into fits,) 
and lost for a time the use of his hand. Wherefore he 
withdrew and left them, as before, to consider what to 
do. Then did the prisoners consult between them- 
selves whether it was best to take his counsel or no ; 
and thus they began to discourse : 

ever slanders their enemies may circulate, in order to prejudice men's minds 
against the truth. The giant's " fits in sunshiny weather," seem to denote 
those transient glimpses of hope, which preserve believers from such dire 
extremities in their most discouraged seasons. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 163 

Brother,* said Christian, What shall we do? The 
life that we now live is miserable : for my part, I know 
not whether it is best to live thus, or die out of 
hand ; " my soul chooseth strangling - rather than life," 
(Job vii, 15,) and the grave is more easy for me than 
this dungeon. Shall we be ruled by the giant ? 

Hope. Indeed our present condition is dreadful, and 
death would be far more welcome to me than thus for 
ever to abide ; but yet let us consider, the Lord of the 
country to which we are going hath said, " Thou shalt 
do no murder ;" no, not to another man's person : much 
more then are we forbidden to take his counsel to kill 
ourselves. Besides, he that kills another can but com- 
mit murder upon his body ; but, for one to kill himself, 
is to kill body and soul at once. And moreover, my 
brother, thou talkest of ease in the grave, but hast 
thou forgotten the hell whither for certain the mur- 
derers go 1 for, " no murderer hath eternal life," &c. 
And let us consider again, that all the law is not in the 
hand of giant Despair: others, so far as I can under- 
stand, have been taken by him as well as we, and yet 
have escaped out of his hands. Who knows, but that 
God, that made the world, may cause that giant 
Despair may die ; or that, at some time or other, he 



* "Brother"— They who have longwalked with stable peace in the ways 
of God, are often known to be more dejected, when sin hath tilled their 
consciences with remorse, than younger professors are ; especially if they 
have caused others to offend, or brought any reproach on the Gospel. Their 
conduct, as inconsistent with their former character and profession, seem9 
a decided proof of self-deception in times past ; they deem it hopeless to 
begin all over again ; Satan endeavours to the utmost to dishearten new 
converts by their example ; and the Lord permits them to be overwhelmed 
for a time with discouragement, for a warning to others : to vindicate the 
honour of his truth, which they have disgraced; to counterpoise such 
attainments or services, as might otherwise " exalt them above measure ;" 
and to show that none has any strength independent of him, and that he 
can make use of the feeble to assist the strong, when he sees good. Hope- 
ful's arguments against self-murder are conclusive : doubtless men in general 
venture on that awful crime, either disbelieving or forgetting the Scripture 
doctrine of a future and eternal state of retribution ; and it were sincerely 
to be wished, that all serious persons would avoid speaking of such aa 
have put an end to their existence: which certainly tends to mislead 
the mind of the tempted into very erroneous apprehensions of this most 
important subject. The subsequent discourse aptly represents the fluctua- 
tion of men's minds under great despondency ; their struggles against 
despair, with purposes at some future opportunity to seek deliverance ; 
then* present irresolution; and the way in which feeble hopes, and strong 
fears of future wrath, keep them from yielding to the suggestions of the 



164 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 






may forget to lock us in ; or that he may in a short 
time have another of his fits before us, and may lose 
the use of his limbs 1 and if ever that should come to 
pass again, for my part, I am resolved to pluck up the 
heart of a man, and to try my utmost to get from under 
his hand. I was a fool that I did not try to do it before ; 
but however, my brother, let us be patient, and endure 
awhile ; the time may come that may give us a happy 
release ; but let us not be our own murderers. With, 
these words Hopeful at present did moderate the mind 
of his brother ; so that they continued together in the 
dark, that day, in their sad and doleful condition. 

Well, towards evening the giant goes down into the 
dungeon again, to see if his prisoners had taken his 
counsel : but when he came there he found them alive ; 
and, truly, alive was all ; for now, what for want of 
bread and water, and by reason of the wounds they re- 
ceived when he beat them, they could do little but 
breathe. But, I say, he found them alive ; at which 
he fell into a grievous rage, and told them, that, seeing 
they had disobeyed his counsel, it should be worse with 
them than if they had never been born. 

At this they trembled greatly, and I think that Chris- 
tian fell into a swoon ; but, coming a little to himself 
again, they renewed their discourse about the giant's 
counsel, and whether yet they had best take it or no. 
Now Christian again seemed to be for doing it, but 
Hopeful made his second reply as folio weth : — 

My brother, * said he, rememberest thou not how 
valiant thou hast been heretofore 1 Apollyon could 
not crush thee, nor could all that thou didst hear or 
see, or feel, in the valley of the Shadow of death ; 
what hardship, terror, and amazement, hast thou al- 
ready gone through, and art thou now nothing but 
fears ! Thou seest that I am in the dungeon with thee, 
a far weaker man by nature than thou art ; also the 



* " My brother" — Serious recollection of past conflicts, dangers, and deli- 
verances, is peculiarly useful to encourage confidence in the power and 
mercy of God, and patient waiting for him in die most difficult and perilous 
situations; and conference witli oar brethren, even if they, too. are under 
6imilar trials, is a very important means of resisting the devil, when 
lie would tempt us to renounce our hope, and have recourse to desperate 
measures. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 165 

giant has wounded rne as well as thee, and hath also 
cut off the bread and water from my mouth, and with 
that I mourn without the light. But let us exercise a 
little more patience ; remember how thou playedst the 
man at Vanity fair, and was neither afraid of the chain 
or cage, nor yet of bloody death ; wherefore let us, at 
least to avoid the shame that becomes not a Christian 
to be found in, bear up with patience as well as we 
can. 

Now night being come again, and the giant and his 
wife being in bed, she asked him concerning the 
prisoners, and if they had taken his counsel : to which 
he replied, They are sturdy rogues, they choose rather 
to bear all hardship than to make away themselves. 
Then said she, Take them into the castle-yard to- 
morrow, and shew them* the bones and skulls of those 
that thou hast already dispatched, and make them 
believe, ere a week comes to an end, thou also wilt 
tear them in pieces, as thou hast done their fellows 
before them. 

So when the morning was come, the giant goes to 
them again, and takes them into the castle-yard, and 
shews them as his wife had bidden him : these, said, 
he, were pilgrims, as you are, once, and they trespassed 
in my grounds, as you have done ; and when I thought 
fit I tore them in pieces, and so within ten days I will 
do you : get you down into your den again : and with 
that he beat them all the way thither. They lay there- 
fore all day on Saturday in a lamentable case, as be- 
fore. Now, when night was come, and when Mrs. 
Diffidence and her husband, the giant, were got to bed, 

* " Show them"— The Scripture exhibits some examples of apostates who 
have died in despair (as king Saul and Jadas Iscariot,) and several intima- 
tions are given of those to whom nothing "remains but a certain fearful 
looking for of judgment and fiery indignation." A few instances also have 
been noticed, in different ages, of notorious apostates who have died in 
blasphemous rage and despair : these accord to the man in the iron cage 
6t the house of Interpreter, and are awful warnings to all professors, " while 
they think they stand, to take heed lest they fall. " But the hypocrite gene- 
rally overlooks the solemn caution ; and the humble Christian, having a 
tender conscience, and an acquaintance with the deceitfulness of his own 
heart, is very apt to consider his wilful transgression as the unpardonable 
sin, and to verge towards despair, from an apprehension that the doom of 
former apostates will at length be his own. This seems intended by the 
giant showing the pilgrims the bones of those he had slain, in order to induce 
uiem to self murder. 



166 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

they began to renew their discourse of their prisoners ; 
and withal, • the old giant wondered that he could 
neither by his blows nor counsel bring them to an end. 
And with that his wife replied, I fear, said she, that 
they live in hopes that some will come to relieve them, 
or that they have picklocks about them, by the means 
of which they hope to escape. And sayest thou so, my 
dear? said the giant; I will therefore search them in 
the morning. 

Well, on * Saturday about midnight they began to 
pray, and continued in prayer till almost break of day. 

Now, a little before it was day, good Christian, as 
one half amazed, brake out in this passionate speech : 
What a fool, quoth he, am I, thus to lay in a stinking 
dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty ? I have 
a key t in my bosom called Promise, that will, I am 

* " Well, on"— Perhaps the author selected Saturday at midnight for the 
precise time when the prisoners began to pray, in order 10 intimate, that 
the return of the Lord's day, and that preparation which serious persons 
are reminded to make for it, as well as its sacred services, are often the 
happy means of recovering those that have fallen into sin and despondency. 
Is othlng will be effectual for the recovering of such persons, till they ' : begin 
to pray" with fervency, importunity, and pa-severance.' Ordinary dili- 
gence will here be unavailing : they have sought ease to die flesh, when they 
ought to have "watched unto prayer;' 5 and tiiey must now watch and 
pray when others sleep ; at least they must su-uggle against their own 
reluctancy, and persist in repeated application to die mercy-seat, till they 
obtain a gracious answer. But such is our nature and situation, that in 
proportion as we have special need for earnestness in such devout exercises, 
our hearts are averse to diem. The obedient cluld anticipates the pleasure 
of meeting his affectionate parent; but, when conscious of having offended, 
through admixture of shame, fear, and pride, he hides himself, and keeps at 
a distance from him. Thus unbelief, guilt, and a proud aversion to unre- 
served self-abasement, wrought upon by Satan's temptations, keep even 
the believer, when he has fallen into any aggravated sin. from coming to 
his only friend, and availing liimself of his sole remedy : "he keeps silence, 
thousrh his bones wax old with his roaring all the day long," (Psalm xxxii, 
3— 5.^ But when diis unbelieving stoutness of spirit is broken down, and 
the offender begins to cry fervently to God for mercy, with humiliating con- 
fessions, renewed application to tlie blood of Christ, andperseverance amidst 
delays and discouragements, it will not be very long ere he obtain complete 
deliverance from die gloomy dungeon of despair. 

t " A key"— The promise of eternal life to every one, without exception, 
who believeth in Clirist, is here especially intended ; but without excluding 
any other of the exceeding great and precious promises of the Gospel. The 
believer, when enabled to recollect such as peculiarly suit his case, and feel- 
ing that he cordially desires die promised blessings, and truly expects them 
byreliance on the testimony and faithfulness of God, in his appointed way, 
has the key in his bosom which " will open any lock in Doubting Casde ;" 
and wliile'he pleads them by die prayer of faith, depending on die merits 
• and atonement of Emmanuel, " coming to God through him," he gradually 
resumes his confidence, and begins to wonder at His past despondency. 
Yet some remains of unbelief, a recollection of his aggravated guilt, and a 
Hear leti he should presume, will render it difficult for him wholly to dismiss 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 167 

persuaded, open any lock in Doubting" Castle. Then 
said Hopeful, That's good news, good brother, pluck it 
out of thy bosom and try. 

Then Christian pulled it out of his bosom, and began 
to try at the dungeon door ; whose bolt as he turned 
the key gave back, and the door flew open with ease, 
and Christian and Hopeful both came out. Then he 
went to the outward door that leads into the castle- 
yard, and with this key opened that door also. After, 
he went to the iron gate, for that must be opened too, 
but that lock went very hard ; yet the key did open it. 
Then they thrust open the gate to make their escape 
with speed; but that gate as it opened made such a 
cracking that it waked giant Despair, who hastily rising 
to pursue his prisoners felt his limbs to fail, for Ms fits 
took him again, so that he could by no means go after 
them. Then they went on, and came to the king's 
highway, and so were safe, because they were out of 
his jurisdiction. 

Now when they were gone over the stile, they began 
to contrive with themselves what they should, do at 
that stile, to prevent those that shall come after from 
falling into the hand of giant Despair. So they con- 
sented to erect there a pillar, and to engrave upon the 
side thereof this sentence, " Over this style is the way 
to Doubting Castle, which is kept by giant Despair, 
who despiseth the king of the celestial country, and 
seeks to destroy the holy pilgrims." Many therefore 
that followed after read what was written, and es- 
caped the danger. This done, they sang as follows : 

his discouraging doubts. But let it especially bs noted, that the faith which 
delivered the pilgrims from giant Despair's castle, induced them to return 
into the highway of obedience without delay, or making any more com- 
plaints of its roughness ; as also to walk in it with more circumspection 
than before ; and to devise every method of cautioning others against pass- 
ing over the stile into By-padi meadow. Whereas a dead faith and a vain 
confidence will keep out all doubts and fears, even on forbidden ground, 
and under the walls of Despair's castle ; till at length the poor deluded 
wretch will be unexpectedly and irresistibly seized upon, and his prey. .And 
if Christians will follow Vain-confidence, and endeavour to lceep up their 
hopes when neglecting their known duty, let them remember, that (what- 
ever some men may pretend) they will surely be thus brought acquainted 
with Diffidence, immured in Doubting Castle, and terribly bruised and 
frighted by giant Despair ; nor will they be delivered till they have learned, 
by painful experience, that die assurance of hope is inseparably connected 
viui the self-denying obedience of faith and love. 



168 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Out of the way we went, and then we found 
What 'twas to tread upon forbidden ground; 
And let them that come after have a care, 
Lest they, for trespassing, his prisoners are 
Whose castle's Doubting, and whose name's Despair. 

They went then till they* came to the Delectable 
Mountains, which mountains belong to the Lord of that 
hill of which we have spoken before : so they went up 
to the mountains to behold the gardens and orchards, 
the vineyards and fountains of water ; where also they 
drank and washed themselves, and did freely eat of 
the vineyards. Now there was on the tops of these 
mountains shepherds feeding their flocks, and they 
stood by the highway side. The pilgrims therefore 
went to them, and leaning upon their staves (as is 
common with weary pilgrims when they stand to talk 
with any by the way,) they asked "Whose Delectable 
Mountains are these? and whose be the sheep that 
feed upon them V 

Stop. The mountains are Emmanuel's land, and they 

* " Till they" — "When offending believers are brought to deep repentance, 
renewed exercises of lively faith, and willing obedience in those self-denying 
duties which they had declined, the Lord "restores to them the joy of his 
salvation," and dieir former comforts become more abundant and perma- 
nent. The Delectable Mountains seem intended to represent those calm 
seasons of peace and comfort, which consistent Christians often experience 
in their old age. They have survived, in a considerable degree, the vehe- 
mence of their youthful passions, and have honourably performed their parts 
in the active scenes of life ; they are established, by long experience, in the 
simplicity of dependence and obedience ; the Lord graciously exempts diem 
from peculiar trials and temptations ; their acquaintance with the ministers 
and people of God is enlarged, and they possess the respect, confidence, 
and affection, of many esteemed friends ; they have much leisure for com- 
munion with' God, and the immediate exercises of religion : and they often 
converse with their breuiren on the loving-kindness and truth of the Lord, 
till "their hearts burn within diem." Thus "leaning on their stalls," 
depending on the promises and perfections of God in assured faith and hope ? 
they anticipate their future happiness " with joy unspeakable and full ot 
glory." These things are represented under a* variety of external images, 
according to the nature of an allegory. The shepherds and their nocks 
denote the more extensive acquaintance of many aged Christians with the 
ministers and churches of Christ, die chief Shepherd, " who laid down his 
life for die sheep." This is " Emmanuel's land," for, being detached from 
worldly engagements and connexions, they now spend dieir time almost 
wholly among the subjects of the Prince of Peace, and as in Ms more espe- 
cial presence. The following lines are added here, as before — 

" Mountains delectable they now ascend, 
Where shepherds be, which to them do commend 
Alluring things, and things that cautions are: 
Pilgrims are steady kept by faith and fear." 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. m 

&re within sight of his city ; and the sheep also are 
his, and he laid down his life for them. 

Chr. Is this the way to the Celestial city ? 

Shep. You are just in the way. 

Chr. How far is it thither? 

Shep. Too far* for any but those that shall get 
thither indeed. 

Chr. Is the way safe or dangerous ? 

Shep. Safe for those for whom it is to be safe ; " but 
transgressors shall fall therein," (Hos. xiv, 9.) 

Chr. Is there in this place any relief for pilgrims 
that are weary and faint in the way ? 

Shep. The Lord of these mountains hath given us a 
charge "not to be forgetful to entertain strangers," 
(Heb. xiii. 1, 2 ;) therefore the good of the place is be- 
fore you. 

I also saw in my dream, that, when the shepherds 
perceived that they were wayfaring men, they also put 
questions to them, (to which they made answer, as in 
other places,) as, whence came you? and, how got you 
into the way? and by what means have you perse- 
vered therein? for but few of them that begin to come 
hither do shew their faces on this mountain. But 
when the shepherds heard their answers, being pleased 
therewith, they looked very lovingly upon them, and 
said, Welcome to the Delectable Mountains. 

The shepherds, I say, whose namesf were Knowledge, 
Experience, Watchful, and Sincere, took them by the 

* " Too far" — The certainty of the final perseverance of true believers 
is continually exemplified in their actually persevering, notwithstanding all 
imaginable inward and outward impediments. Many hold the doctrine 
who are not interested in the privilege, and whose conduct eventually 
proves that they "had no root in themselves," (1 John ii, 19;) but the 
true believer acquires new strength by his very trials and mistakes, and 
possesses increasing evidence that the new covenant is made with him ; 
for, " having obtained help of God," he still " continues in Christ's word," 
and "abides in him;" and while temptations, persecutions, heresies, 
and afflictions, which stumble transgressors and detect hypocrites, tend 
to quicken, humble, sanctify, and establish bun, he may assuredly con- 
clude, that " he shall be kept by the power of God, through faith, unto 
salvation." 

t " Names" — These names imply much useful instruction, both to minis- 
ters and Cliristians, by showing them what endowments are most essential 
to die pastoral office. The attention given to preachers should not be pro- 
portioned to die degree of their confidence, vehemence, accomplishments, 
graceful delivery, eloquence, or politeness ; but to that of their knowledge 
of die Scriptures, and of every subject that relates to the glory of God and 
the salvation of souls ; their experience of the power of divine truth in thei* 



ITU TM i'lLtttUM/S mUUKHiSS, 

hand, and had them to their tents, and made them par- 
take of that which was ready at present. They said, 
moreover, we would that you should stay here awhile, 
to be acquainted with us, and yet more to solace your- 
selves with the good of these Delectable Mountains. 
They then told them, that they were content to stay : 
so they went to their rest that night, because it was 
very late. 

Then I saw in my dream, that in the morning the 
shepherds called up Christian and Hopeful to walk 
with them upon the mountains : so they went forth 
with them, and walked awhile, having a pleasant pros- 
pect on every side. Then said the shepherds one to 
another, shall we show these pilgrims some wonders ? 
So, when they had concluded to do it, they had them 
first to the top of a hill,* called Error, which was very 

own hearts, of the faithfulness of God to his promises, of the believer's 
conflicts, difficulties, and dangers, and of the manifold devices of Satan to 
mislead, deceive, pervert, defile, or harrass the souls of men ; their watch- 
fulness over the people, as their constant business and unremitted care, to 
caution them against every snare, and to recover them out of every error, 
into which diey may be betrayed; and their sincerity, as manifested by a 
disinterested, unambitious, unassuming, patient, and affectionate conduct ; 
by proving that they deem themselves bound to practice their own instruc- 
tions, and by a uniform attempt to convince the people that they " seek not 
theirs, but them." 

* " A hill" — Human nature always verges to extremes. In former times 
the least deviation from an established system of doctrine was reprobated 
as a damnable heresy ; and some persons, even at this day, tacitly laying 
claim to infallibility, deem every variation from their standard an error, and 
every error inconsistent with true piety. But the absurdity and bad effects 
of this bigotiy having been discovered and exposed, it has become far more 
commotvto consider indifference about theological truth as essential to can- 
dour and liberality of sentiment ; and to vilify, as narrow-minded bigots, 
all who " contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints," how- 
ever averse they may be to persecution, or disposed to benevolence towards 
such as differ from them. Thus die great end for which prophets and apos- 
tles were inspired, martyrs shed their blood, and the Son of God himself 
came into the world and died on the cross, is pronounced a matter of no 
moment ; revelation is virtually rejected, (for we may know, without the 
Bible, that men ought to be sober, honest, sincere, and benevolent ;) and 
those principles, from which all genuine holiness must arise, are contemned 
as enthusiasm and foolishness! Some errors may indeed consist with true 
faith, (for who will say that he is hi nothing mistaken 1) yet no error is abso- 
lutely harmless; all must, in one way or other, originate from a wrong state 
of mind, or a faulty conduct, and proportionably counteract the design of 
revelation ; and some are absolutely inconsistent with repentance, humility, 
faith, hope, love, spiritual worship, and holy obedience, and consequently 
incompatible with a state of acceptance and salvation. These are repre- 
sented by " the hill Error," and a scriptural specimen is adduced. Profes- 
sors fall into such delusions by indulging self-conceit, vain-glory, and 
curiosity ; by " leaning to their own understandings," and " intruding into 
the diings they have not seen, vainly puffed up by their fleshly mind," and 
by speculating on subjects, which are too deep for them— for the fruit of 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 171 

steep on the farthest side, and bid them look down to 
the bottom. So Christian and Hopeful looked down, 
and saw at the bottom several men dashed all to 
pieces by a fall that they had from the top. Then 
said Christian, What meaneth this ? The shepherds 
answered, Have you not heard of them that were made 
to err, by hearkening to Hymeneus and Philetus, 
(2 Tim. ii, 17, 18,) as concerning- the faith of the resur- 
rection of the body? They answered, Yea. Then said 
the shepherds, Those that you see lie dashed in pieces 
at the bottom of this mountain are they ; and they have 
continued to this day unburied, as you see, for exam- 
ple to others to take heed how they clamber too high, 
or how they come too near the brink of this moun- 
tain. s 

Then I saw they had them to the top of another 
mountain, and the name of that is Caution, and bid 
them look afar off: which when they did they perceived, 
as they thought, several men walking up and down 
among the tombs that were there ; and they perceived 
that the men were blind, because they stumbled some- 
times upon the tombs, and because they could not get 
out from among them. Then said Christian, What 
means this ? 

The shepherds then answered, Did you not see a 
little below these mountains a stile * that leads into a 



" the tree of knowledge," in respect of religious opinions not expressly 
revealed, is still forbidden ; and men vainly thinking it " good for food, and 
a tree to be desired to make one wise," and desiring"" to be as gods," under- 
standing and accounting for every thing, fall into destructive heresies, do 
immense mischief, and become awful examples for the warning of their 
contemporaries and successors. 

* " A stile" — Many professors, turning aside from the line of conscien- 
tious obedience to escape difficulties, experience great distress of mind ; 
which not being able to endure, they desperately endeavour to disbelieve or 
pervert all they have learned concerning religion : dins they are blinded by 
Satan through their despondings, and are given over to strong delusions, 
as the just punishment of their wickedness, (2 Thess. i, 11—13.) Notwith- 
standing their profession, and the hopes long formed of them, they return 
to the company of those who are dead in. sin, and buried in worldly pur- 
suits; differing from them merely in a few speculative notions, and being 
far more hopeless than they. This is not only the case with many, at the 
first beginning of a religious profession, as of Pliable at the slough of 
Despond, but with some at every stage of die journey. Such examples 
may very properly demand our tears or" godly sorrow and fervent gratitude, 
when we reflect on our own misconduct and the loving-kindness of the 
Lord, who hath made us to difter, by first implanting, and then preserving 
faith in our hearts 



172 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

meadow on the left hand of this way 1 They answered, 
Yes. Then said the shepherds, From that stile there 
goes a path that leads directly to Doubting Castle, 
which is kept by giant Despair, and these men (point- 
ing to them among the tombs) came once on pilgrimage, 
as you do now, even till they came to that stile. And 
because the right way was rough in that place, they 
chose to go out of it into that meadow, and there were 
taken by giant Despair, and cast into Doubting Castle ; 
where, after they had awhile been kept in the dungeon, 
he at last did put out their eyes, and led them among 
those tombs, where he has left them to wander to this 
very day, that the saying of the wise man might be 
fulfilled, " He that wandereth out of the way of under- 
standing shall remain in the congregation of the dead," 
(Prov. xxi, 16.) Then Christian and Hopeful looked 
upon one another, with tears gushing out, but yet said 
nothing to the shepherds. 

Then I saw in my dream that the shepherds had them 
to another place in a bottom, where was a door in the 
side of a hill, and they opened the door and bid them 
look in. They looked in therefore, and saw that within 
it was very dark and smoky ; they also thought that 
they heard there a rumbling noise, as of fire, and a cry 
of some tormented; and that they smelt the scent of 
brimstone. Then said Christian, What means this ? 
The shepherds told them, This is * a by-way to hell, a 
way that hypocrites go in at ; namely, such as sell their 
birthright, with Esau ; such as sell their master, with 
Judas ; such as blaspheme the Gospel, with Alexander; 
and that lie and dissemble, with Ananias, and Sapphira, 
his wife. 

Then said Hopeful to the shepherds, I perceive that 

* " This is"— No man can see the heart of another, or certainty know 
him to be a true believer : it is, therefore, proper to warn the most approved 
persons, " while they think they stand, to take heed lest they fall." Such 
cautions, with the diligence, watchfulness, self-examination, and prayer 
which they excite, are the means of perseverance and establishment to the 
upright An event may be certain in itself, and yet inseparable from the 
method in which it is to be accomplished, (Acts xxvii, 22—31 ;) and it may 
appear very uncertain to die persons concerned, especially if diey yield to 
remissness, (1 Pet. iv, 18:) so that prayer to the Almighty God for strength 
with continual watchfulness and attention to every part of practical reli- 
gion, is absolutely necessary to " the full assurance ot hope unco the end," 
(Heb. vi, 10-15.) 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 173 

tnese had on them, even every one, a show of pilgrim- 
age as we have now, had they not 1 

Shep. Yea, and held it a long time too. 

Hope. How far might they go on in pilgrimage in 
their days, since they, notwithstanding, were thus mi- 
serably cast away 1 

Shep. Some farther, and some not so far as these 
mountains. 

~ Then said the pilgrims one to another, We had need 
to cry to the strong for strength. 

Shep. Ay, and you will have need to use it when you 
have it, too. 

By this time the pilgrims had a desire to go forwards, 
and the shepherds a desire they should ; so they walked 
together towards the end of the mountains. Then said 
the shepherds one to another, Let us here show the 
pilgrims the gates of the Celestial City, if they have 
skill to look through our prospective glass. The pil- 
grims then lovingly accepted the motion: so they had 
them to the top of a high hill, called Clear, and gave 
them the glass to look. 

Then they essayed to look, but the remembrance of 
that last * thing that the shepherds had showed them 
made their hands shake ; by means of which impedi- 
ment they could not look steadily through the glass, 
yet thought they saw something like the gate, and also 
some of the glory of the place. Then they went away 
and sang this song :— 

Thus by the shepherds secrets are reveal'd, 
Which from all other men are kept conceal'd : 
Come to the shepherds then, if you would see 
Things deep, things hid, and that mysterious be. 

When they were about to depart, one of the shepherds 
gave them a note of the way. Another of them bid 

* " That last"— Such is the infirmity of our nature, even when in a mea- 
sure renovated, that it is almost impossible for us vigorously to exercise one 
holy affection, without failing in some other. When we confide in God 
with assured faith and hope, we commonly are defective in reverence, hu- 
mility, and caution : on the other hand, a jealousy of ourselves, and a 
salutary fear of coming short or drawing back generally weaken our con- 
fidence in God, and interfere with a joyful anticipation of our future inheri- 
tance. But. notwithstanding this deduction through our remaining unbelief, 
guch experiences are very advantageous : " Be not high-minded, but fear;'* 
for " blessed is be that feareth always." 



174 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

them beware of the flatterer. The third bid them take 
heed that they slept not upon the enchanted ground. 
And the fourth bid them good speed. So I awoke from 
my dream. 

And I slept and dreamed again, and saw the same 
two pilgrims going down the mountains along the high- 
way towards the city. Now a little* below these moun- 
tains on the left hand lieth the country of Conceit, 
from which country there comes into the way in which 
the pilgrims walked a little crooked lane. Here, there- 
fore, they met with a very brisk lad that came out of 
that country, and Ins name was Ignorance. So Chris- 
tian asked him from what parts he came, and whither 
he was going ? 

Ignor. Sir, I was born in the country that lieth off 
there a little on the left hand, and am going to the 
Celestial City. 

Chr. But how do you think to get in at the gate ? foi 
you may find some difficulties there. 

* " Now a little" — Multitudes of ignorant persons entirely disregard God 
and religion ; others have a show of piety, which is grave, reserved, austere, 
distant, and connected widi contemptuous enmity to evangelical truth : but 
there are some persons of a sprightly disposition, who are more conceited 
and vain-glorious than haughty and arrogant ; think well of themselves, 
and presume on the good opinion of their acquaintance; are open and 
communicative, though they expose their ignorance continually; fancy 
themselves" very religious, and expect to be thought so by others; arewilling 
to associate with evangelical professors, as if they ail meant the same tiling ; 
and do not express contempt or enmity, unless urged to it in self-defence. 
This description of men seems to be represented by the character next intro- 
duced, about which the author has repeatedly bestowed much pains. Chris- 
tian had soon done with Obstinate and Worldly-wiseman ; for such men, 
being outrageous against the Gospel, shun all intercourse with established 
professors, and little can be done to warn or undeceive them : but brisk, 
conceited, shallow persons, who are ambitious of being thought religious, 
are shaken off with great difficulty ; they are continually found among the 
hearers of the Gospel ; often intrude themselves at the most sacred ordi- 
nances, when they have it in their power ; and sometimes are favourably 
thought of, till further acquaintance proves their entire ignorance. Pride, 
in one form or another, is the universal fault of human nature; but the 
frivolous vain-glory of empty talkers differs exceedingly from the arrogance 
and formal self-importance of scribes and pharisees, and arises from a dif- 
ferent constitution and education, and other habits and associations: this 
is the town of Conceit, where Ignorance resided. A lively disposition, a 
weak capacity, a confused judgment ; the want of information about 
religion and almost every other subject ; a proportionable blindness to 
those manifold deficiencies, and a pert, forward self-sufficiency, are the 
prominent features in tins portrait ; and if a full purse, secular influence, 
the ability of conferring favours, and power to excite fears be added, the 
whole receives its highest finishing. With these observations on this 
peculiar character, and a few hints as we proceed, the plain language 
of the author on this subject will be perfectly intelligible to the attentive 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 175 

As other good people do, said he. 

Chr. But what have you to show at that gate, that 
may cause that gate to be opened to you ? 

Ignor. I know my Lord's will, and have been a good 
liver; I pay every man his own; I pray, fast, pay 
tithes, and give alms, and have left my country for 
whither I am going. 

Chr. But thou earnest not in at the wicket-gate that 
is at the head of this way; thou earnest in hither 
through that same crooked lane, and therefore I fear, 
however thou mayest think of thyself, when the reckon- 
ing-day shall come, thou wilt have laid to thy charge 
that thou art a thief and a robber, instead of getting 
admittance into the city. 

Ignor. Gentlemen, ye be utter strangers to me, I 
know you not ; be content to follow the religion of 
your country, and I will follow the religion of mine. I 
hope all will be well. And, as for the gate that you 
talk of, all the world knows that that is a great way off 
of our country. I cannot think that any men in all our 
parts do so much as know the way to it ; nor need they 
matter whether they do or no; since we have, as you 
see, a fine pleasant green lane that comes down from 
our country the next way into the way. 

When Christian saw that the man was wise in his 
own conceit, he said to Hopeful, whisperingly, " There 
is more hope of a fool than him," (Prov. xxvi, 12;) and 
said moreover, " When he that is a fool walketh by the 
way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saithto every one 
that he is a fool," (Eccles. x, 3.) What, shall* we talk 
farther with him, or outgo him at present and so leave 
him to think of what he hath heard already, and then 
stop again for him afterwards, and see if by degrees 
we can do any good by him"? Then said Hopeful, — 

Let Ignorance a little while now muse 
On what is said, and let him not refuse 



* " What, shall"— It is best not to converse much at once with persons 
of this character ; but after a few warnings to leave them to their reflec- 
tions: for their self-conceit is often cherished by altercations, in which 
they deem themselves very expert, however disgusting their discourse may 
be to others. 



176 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Good counsel to embrace, lest he remain 
Still ignorant of what 's the chiefest gain. 
God saith, those that no understanding have, 
Altho' he made them, them he will not save. 

He farther added, It is not good, I think, to say to 
him all at once ; let us pass him by, if you will, and 
talk to him anon, even as he is " able to bear it." 

So they both went on, and Ignorance he came after. 
Now when they had passed him a little way, they en- 
tered into a very dark lane,* where they met a man 
whom seven devils had bound with seven strong cords, 
and were carrying him back to the door that they saw 
on the side of the hill, (Matt, xii, 45 ; Prov. v. 22.) Now 
good Christian began to tremble, and so did Hopeful 
his companion ; 3-et as the devils led away the man, 
Christian looked to see if he knew him ; and he thought 
it might be one Turn-away that dwellt in the town of 
Apostacy. But he did not perfectly see his face, for 
he did hang his head like a thief that is found. But 
being gone past, Hopeful looked after him, and spied 
on his back a paper with this inscription, " Wanton 
professor and damnable apostate." Thent said Chris- 

* " Dark lane" — This seems to mean a season of prevalent impiety, and 
of great affliction to the people of God. Here the impartial author takes 
occasion to contrast die character of Ignorance with that of Turn-away. 
Loose evangelical professors look down with sapercilious disdain on those 
who do not understand die doctrines of grace ; and think themselves more 
enlightened, and better acquainted with the liberty of the Gospel, than more 
practical Christians : but in dark times such wanton professors often turn 
out damnable apostates, and the detection of their hypocrisy makes them 
ashamed to show their faces among those believers, over whom they before 
affected a kind of superiority. When convictions subside, and Christ has 
not set up liis kingdom in the heart, the unclean spirit resumes his former 
habitation, and takes to himself seven other spirits more wicked than him- 
self, who bind the poor wretch faster than ever in the cords of sin and 
delusion : so that his last state is more hopeless dian the first. Such apos- 
tacies make the hearts of the upright to tremble ; but a recollection of the 
nature of Turn-away 's profession and confidence explains the matter, and 
they recover their hope, and learn to take heed to themselves. 

t "Then"— The ensuing episode concerning Little-faith was evidently 
intended to prevent weak Christians being dismayed by the awful thing 
spoken of loose professors. In times of persecution, many professors 
openly return into the broad way to destruction : thus Satan murders the 
souls of men, by threatening to kill their bodies ; tiiis is Dead-man's-lane, 
leading back to Broad-way-gate. Believers, indeed, are preserved from thus 
drawing back to perdition : but the weak in faith, being faint-hearted, and 
mistrusting the promises and faithfulness of God, and betrayed into sinful 
compliances or negligences, they lie down to sleep when they have special 
need to watch and be sober: they conceal, or perhaps deny, their profession, 
are timid and inactive in duty, or in other respects act contrary to their 






WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. ITt 

tian to his fellow, Now I call to remembrance that 
which was told me, of a thing that happened to a good 
man hereabout. The name of the man was Little-faith, 
but a good man, and he dwelt in the town of Sincere. 
The thing was this : at the entering in of this passage, 
there comes down from Broad-way-gate a lane called 
Dead-man's-lane ; so called, because of the murders 
that are commonly done there ; and this Little-Faith 
going on pilgrimage, as we do now, chanced to sit 
down there and slept : now there happened at that 
time to come down the lane from Broad-way-gate three 
sturdy rogues and their names were Faint-heart, Mis- 
trust, and Guilt, three brothers ; and they spying Little- 
faith where he was, came galloping up with speed. 
Now the good man was just awakened from his sleep, 
and was getting up to go on his journey. So they came 
up all to him, and with threatening language bid him 
stand. At this Little-faith looked as white as a clout^ 
and had neither power to fight nor flee. Then said 
Faint-heart, " Deliver thy purse ;" but he making no 
haste to do it, (for he was loth to lose his money,) Mis- 
trust ran up to him, and thrusting his hand into his 
pocket pulled out thence a bag of silver. Then he cried 
out " Thieves ! thieves !" With that Guilt, with a great 
club that was in his hand, struck Little-faith on the 
head, and with that blow felled him flat to the ground; 
where he - lay bleeding as one that would bleed to 
death. All this while the thieves stood b) r . But at 
last,* they hearing that some were upon the road, and 

consciences, and thus contract guilt. So that Faint-heart threatens and 
assaults them ; Mistrust plunders them; and Guilt beats them down, and 
makes them almost despair of life. As the robbery was committed in the 
dark lane before mentioned, this seems to have been the author's precise 
meaning ; bat any unbelieving fears, that induce men to neglect the means 
of grace, or to adopt sinful expedients of securing themselves, which, on 
the review, must bring guilt and terror upon their consciences, may also be 
intended. 

* " At last" — As these robbers represent the inward effects of unbelief 
and disobedience, and not any outward enemies, Great-grace seems to be 
the emblem of those believers, or ministers, who, having honourably stood 
then ground, endeavour to restore the fallen, in the spirit of meekness, by 
suitable encouragements. The remembrance of such persons, and their 
compassionate exhortations or honourable examples, help to drive away 
entire despondency, and to inspire the trembling penitent with some hope 
of finding mercy and grace in this time of urgent need. This may be svlle- 
gorically represented by the fligh; of the robbers, when they heard that 
Great-grace was on the road. 



178 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

fearing lest it should be one Great-grace, that dwells 
in the city of Good-confidence, they betook themselves 
to their heels, and left this good man to shift for himself ; 
who getting up, made shift to scramble on his way. — 
This was the story. 

Hope. But did they take from him all that ever he had ? 

Chr. No; the place where his jewels* were they 
never ransacked ; so those he kept still. But, as I was 
told, the good man was much afflicted for his loss ; for 
the thieves got most of his spending money. That 
which they got not, as I said, were jewels ; also he had 
a little odd money left, but scarce enough to bring him 
to his journey's end, (1 Pet. iv, 18 ;) nay, if I was not 
misinformed, he was forced to beg as he went, to keep 
himself alive, (for his jewels he might not sell.) But 
beg and do what he could, "he went," as we say, 
" with many a hungry belly," the most part of the rest 
pf the way. 

Hope. But is it not a wonder they got not from him 
his certificate, by which he was to receive his admit- 
tance at the celestial gate 1 

Chr. It is a wonder : but they got not that ; though 
they missed it not through any good cunning of his ; 
for he being dismayed with their coming upon him, 
had neither power nor skill to hide any thing ; so it was 
more by good providence than by his endeavour that 
they missed of that good thing, (2 Tim. i, 14; 2 Pet. 
ii,9.) 

Hope. But it must needs be a comfort to him that 
they got not his jewels from him. 

Chr. It might have been great comfort to him, had he> 



* " Jewels"— The believer's union with Christ, and the sanctification of 
the Spirit, sealing his acceptance and rendering him meet for heaven, ara 
his invaluable and unalienable jewels. But he may by sin loose his com- 
forts, and not be able to perceive the evidences of his own safety ; and even 
if he be again enabled to hope tiiat it will be well with him in the event, he 
may be so harrassed by the recollection of the loss he has sustained, the 
effects of his misconduct on others, and the obstructions he hath thrown in 
the way of his own comfort and usefulness, that his future life may be ren- 
dered a constant scene of disquietude and painful reflections. Thus the 
doctrine of the believer's final perseverance is both maintained and guarded 
from abuse : and it is not owing to a man's own care, but to the Lord's free 
mercy, powerful interposition, and new covenant engagements, that unbe- 
lief and guilt do not rob uko of Lis tide to heaven, ai well as of his comfort 
and confidence 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 179 

used it as he should; but they that told me the story- 
said, that he made but little use of it all the rest of 
the way ; and that, because of the dismay that he had 
in the taking away liis money. Indeed he forgot it a 
great part of the rest of his journey ; and besides, when 
at any time it came into his mind, and he began to be 
comforted therewith, then would fresh thoughts of his 
loss come again upon him, and those thoughts would 
swallow up all. 

Hope. Alas, poor man ! this could not but be a great 
grief unto him ! 

Chr. Grief ! ay, a grief indeed. Would it not have 
been so to any of us, had we been used as he, to be 
robbed and wounded too, and that in a strange place, 
as'he was ? It is a wonder he did not die with grief, 
poor heart : I was told that he scattered almost all 
the rest of the way with nothing but doleful and bitter 
complaints ; telling also to all that overtook him, or 
that he overtook in the way as he went, where he was 
robbed, and how ; w T ho they w r ere that did it, and what 
he lost; how he was wounded, and that he hardly 
escaped with life. 

Hope. But it is a wonder * that his necessity did not 
put him upon selling or pawning some of his jewels, 
that he might have wherewith to relieve himself ia 
his journey. 

Chr. Thou talkest like one upon whose head is the 
shell to this very day : for what should he pawn them ? 
or to whom should he sell them 1 In all that country 
Where he was robbed his jewels were not accounted 
of ; nor did he want that relief which could from thence 
be administered to him. Besides, had his jewels been 
missing at the gate of the Celestial City, he had (and 
that he knew well enough,) been excluded from an 
inheritance there, and that would have been worse 
to him than the appearance and villainy of ten thousand 
thieves. 

• " Wonder"— Many professors, meeting with discouragements, give 
ffp their religion for the sake of this present world ; but, if any thence 
argue, that true believers will copy their example, they show that they 
are not well established in judgment, nor deeply acquainted with the 
nature of the divine life, or die objects of iui supreme desires and pecaiia* 

Saeca 



180 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

"" Hope. Why art thou so tart, my brother ? Esau sold 
his birthright, and that for a mess of pottage, (Heb. xii, 
16;) and that birthright was his greatest jewel: and, 
if he, why might not Little-faith do so too ? 

Chr. Esau did sell his birthright indeed, and so do 
many besides, and by so doing exclude themselves 
from the chief blessing ; as also that caitiff did : but 
you must put a difference betwixt Esau and Little- 
faith, and also betwixt their estates. Esau's birthright 
was typical, but Little-faith's jewels were not so. 
Esau's belly was his god, but Little-faith's belly was 
not so. Esau's want lay in his fleshly appetite, Little- 
faith's did not so. Besides, Esau could see no farther 
than to the fulfilling of his lust : " For I am at the 
point to die," said he, " and what good will this birth- 
right do me?" (Gen. xxv, 29—34.) But Little-faith, 
though it was his lot to have but a little faith, was by 
his little faith kept from such extravagances, and made 
to see and prize his jewels more than to sell them as 
Esau did his birthright. You read not any where that 
Esau had faith, no, not so much as a little ; therefore 
no marvel, if where the flesh only bears sway, (as it 
will in that man where no faith is, to resist,) if he sells 
his birthright, and his soul and all, and that to the devil 
of hell-; for it is with such as it is with the ass, " who 
in her occasion cannot be turned away," ( Jer. ii, 24 ) 
when their minds are set upon their lusts, they will 
have them, whatever they cost. But Little-faith was 
of another temper, his mind was on things divine ; his 
livelihood was upon things that were spiritual and 
above ; therefore, to what end should he that is of 
such a temper sell his jewels, (had there been any that 
would have bought them,) to fill his mind with empty 
things ? Will a man give a penny to fill his belly with 
hay ? or can you persuade the turtle-dove to live upon 
carrion like the crow? Though faithless ones can, for 
carnal lusts, pawn, or mortgage, or sell, what they 
have, and themselves outright to boot, yet they that 
have faith, saving faith, though but little of it, cannot 
do so. Here, therefore, my brother, is thy mistake. 

Hope. I acknowledge it ; but yet your severe reflec- 
tion had almost made me angry. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 181 

Chr. Why ! I did but compare thee to some of the 
birds that are of the brisker sort, who will run to and 
fro in untrodden paths with the shell upon their heads : 
but pass by that, and consider the matter under debate, 
and all shall be we'll betwixt thee and me. 

Hope. But Christian, these three fellows, I am per- 
suaded in my heart, are but a company of cowards :* 
would they have run else, think you, as they did, at the 
noise of one that was coming on the road ? Why did 
not Little-faith pluck up a greater heart ? He might, 
methinks, have stood one brush with them, and have 
3'ielded when there had been no remedy. 

Chr. That they are cowards, many have said, but 
few have found it so in the time of trial. As for a 
great heart, Little-faith had none; and I perceive by 
thee, my brother, hadst thou been the man concerned, 
thou art but for a brush, and then to yield. And verily, 
since this is the height of thy stomach now they are at 
a distance from us, should they appear to thee, as 
they did to him, they might put thee to second thoughts. 

But consider again, they are but journeymen thieve^ ; 
they serve under the king of the bottomless pit ; who, 
if need be, will come to their aid himself, and his voice 
is as the roaring of a lion, (1 Pet. v, 8.) I myself have 
been engaged as this Little-faith was, and I found it a 

* " Cowards" — The young convert views temptations, conflicts, and per- 
secutions, in a very different light than experienced believers do. Warm 
with zeal, and full of confidence, which he imagines to be wholly genuine, 
and knowing comparatively little of his own heart, or the nature of the 
Christian conflict, the young convert resembles a new recruit, who is apt to 
boast what great things, he" will do : but the old disciple, though much 
stronger in faith, and possessing habitually more vigour of holy affection, 
knows himself too well to boast, and speaks with modesty of the past, and 
diffidence of the future: like the veteran soldier of approved valour.'who 
has often been in actual service. They who have boasted before-hand what 
they would do and suffer rather than deny die faith, have generally either- 
proved apostates, or been taught their weakness by painful experience. 
And when a real believer has thus fallen, the recollection of past t 
will add to his remorse and terror, and Satan will attempt to drive him to 
despair : so that, indeed, " no man can tell what in such a combat attends 
us, but he that has been in the battle himself. " Even they, who were most 
remarkable for strength of faith, have often been overcome in the hour of 
temptation; and, when guilt got within them, they found it no easy matter 
to recover their hope and comfort : how then can the weak in faith be ex- 
pected to overcome in such circumstances? Tne accommodation of the 
passages from Job to this conflict seems merely intended to imply, that the 
assaults of Satan, on these occasions, are more terrible than any thing ra 
the visible creation can be ; and that every possible advantage will be need- 
ful in order to withstand in the evil day. 



182 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

terrible thing. These three villains set upon me, and 
I beginning like a Christian to resist, they gave out a 
call, and in came their master : I would, as the saying 
is, have given my life for a penny ; but that, as God 
would have it, I was clothed with .armour of proof. 
Ay, and yet, though I was so harnessed, I found it hard 
work to quit myself like a man : no man can tell what 
in that combat attends us, but he that hath been in 
the battle himself. 

Hope. Well, but they ran, you see, when they did but 
suppose that one Great-grace was in the way. 

Chr. True, they have often fled, both they and their 
master, when Great-grace hath appeared ; and no mar- 
vel, for he is the King's champion : but, I trow, you 
will put some difference between Little-faith and the 
King's champion. All the King's subjects. are not his 
champions ; nor can they, when tried, do such feats of 
war as he. Is it meet to think that a little child should 
handle Goliah as David did? or that there should be 
the strength of an ox in a wren ? Some are strong, 
some are weak; some have great faith, some have 
little ; this man was one of the weak, and therefore he 
went to the wall. 

Hope. I would it had been Great-grace for his sake. 

Chr. If it had been he, he might have had his hands 
full ; for I must tell you, that, though Great-grace is 
excellent good at his weapon, and has, and can, so 
long as he keeps them at sword's point, do well enough 
with them, yet if they get within him, even Faint- 
heart, Mistrust, or the other, it will go hard but that 
they will throw up his heels ; and when a man is down, 
you know, what can he do ? 

Whoso looks well upon Great-grace's face, shall see 
those scars and cuts there that shall easily give de- 
monstration of what I say. Yea, once I heard that he 
should say, (and that when he was in the combat,) 
M We despaired even of life." How did these sturdy 
rogues and their fellows make David groan, mourn, 
and roar? Yea, Heman and Hezekiah too, though 
champions in their days, were forced to bestir them 
when by these assaulted : and yet, notwithstanding, 
they had their coats soundly brushed by them. Peter> 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 183 

upon a time, would go try what he could do ; but, 
though some do say of him that he is the prince of the 
apostles, they handled him so that they made him at 
last afraid of a sorry girl. 

Besides, their king is at their whistle ; he is never 
out of hearing ; and if at any time they be put to the 
worst, he, if possible, comes in to help them : and of 
him it is said, " the sword of him that layeth at him 
cannot hold ; the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon ; 
he esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood ; 
the arrow cannot make him flee, sling-stones are 
turned, with him, into stubble ; darts are counted as 
stubble ; he laugheth at the shaking of a spear," (Job 
xli, 26—29.) What can a man do in this case ? It is 
true, if a man could at every turn have Job's horse, 
and had skill and courage to ride him, he might do 
notable things ; for "his neck is clothed with thunder; 
he will not be afraid as a grasshopper ; the glory of 
his nostrils is terrible ; he paweth m the valley, and 
rejoiceth in his strength ; he goeth on to meet the 
armed men : he mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted, 
neither turneth he back from the sword : the quiver 
rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield ; 
he swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage, 
neither belie veth he that if is the sound of the trumpet. 
He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha ; and he smelleth 
the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains and the 
shoutings," (Job xxxix, 19 — 25.) 

But for such footmen as thee and I are, let us never 
desire to meet with an enemy, nor vaunt as if we 
could do better, when we hear of others that they have 
been foiled ; nor be tickled at the thought of our own 
manhood, for such commonly come by the worst when 
tried. Peter, of whom I made mention before, he 
would swagger, ay, he would ; he would, as his vain 
mind prompted him to say, do better, and stand more 
for his master than all men : but who so foiled and run 
down by those villains as he 1 

When, therefore, we hear that such robberies are 
done on the King's highway, two things become us to 
do : first, to go out harnessed, and to be sure to take a 
shield with us ; for it was for want of that that he that 



m THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

laid so lustily at Leviathian could not make him yield; 
for, indeed, if that be wanted he fears us not at all. 
Therefore he that had skill hath said, " Above all, take 
the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to 
quench all the fiery darts of the wicked," (Eph. vi, 16.) 

It is good also that we desire of the King a convoy,* 
that he will go with us himself. This made David re- 
joice when in the valley of the Shadow of Death: and 
Moses was rather for dying where he stood than to go 
one step without his God, (Exod. xxxiii, 15.) 0, my 
brother, if he will but go along with us, what need we 
be afraid of ten thousand that shall set themselves 
against us 1 but without him the proud helpers fall 
under the slam, (Psal. hi, 5 — S ; xxvii, 1 — 3 ; Isa. x, 4.) 

I, for my part, have been in the fray before now ; and 
though, through the goodness of him that is best, I am, 
as you see, alive, yet I cannot boast of my manhood. 
Glad shall I be if I meet with no more such brunts ; 
though I fear we are not got beyond all danger. How- 
ever, since the lion and the bear have not as yet 
devoured me, I hope God will deliver us from the next 
uncircumcised Philistines. Then sung Christian — 

Poor Little-faith ! hast been among the thieves ? 
TVastrobb'd? remember this, whoso believes, 
And get more faith, then shall you victors be 
Over ten thousand, else scarce over three. 

So they went on, and Ignorance followed. They 
went then till they came at a place where they saw a 
way put itself t into their wa3", and seemed withal to 

* " Convoy" — Instead of saying, " though all men deny thee, yet will 
not I," it behoves us to use all means of grace diligently, and to be "instant 
in prayer, that the Lord himself may protect us by his power, and animate 
lie by his presence, and then only sliall we be enabled to overcome both the 
fear of man, and the temptations of the devil. 

f "Put itself" — This way, which seemed as straight as therizht way, 
and in entering on which there was no stile to be passed, must denote some 
very p!a.usible"and gradual deviation from the simplicity of the Gospel, in 
doctrine or practice. Peculiar circumstances may require the believer to 
dettrmine how to act, when so much can be said in support of different 
measures, as to make him hesitate ; and it" he merely consider the subject 
in his own mind, or consult with his friends, without carefully examining 
the rule of Scripture, and praying for divine direction, he will very probably 
be seduced into the wrong path : and, if he listen to the Fiaiterer, he will 
certainly be misled. It is, tiierefore, requisite to inquire what is meant by 
the Flatterer. It would be a manifest impropriety to suppose diese pilgrims 
hearkening to such as preach justification by 'the works of the law; or 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 185 

lie as straight as the way which they should go ; and 
here they knew not which of the two to take, for both 
seemed straight before them : therefore here they stood 

flatter men's self-complacency by harangues on the dignity of human nature, 
and the unbiassed freedom of the will ; the sufficiency of reason in matters 
of religion, or the goodness of die heart ; for experienced Christians cannot 
be thus imposed on. Nor would gross antinomianism engage the attention 
of those, who have been in Doubting Castle, for turning aside into By-path 
meadow. But the human mind is always accessible to flattery, in one 
form or other ; and there have in every age been teachers and professors, 
who have soothed men into a good opinion of their state on insufficient 
grounds ; or fed their spiritual pride by expressing too favourable thoughts 
of their attainments, which is often mistaken for a very loving spirit. This 
directly tends to unwatchfuluess, and an unadvised way of deciding in 
difficult cases ; and thus men are imperceptibly induced to consult their own 
inclination, ease, or interest, instead of the will and glory of God. In the 
mean time, such flatterers commend dieir prudence, in allowing themselves 
a little rest ; persuade them that they are entitled to distinction, and exempted 
from general rules ; insinuate that "they are too well acquainted with Satan's 
devices to be deceived : and in short seem to make their opinion the stand- 
ard of right and wrong. Some excellent men, from a natural easiness of 
temper, united with spiritual love and genuine candour, thus undesignedly 
too much soothe their brethren } but die Flatterer is ' ' a black man in a white 
robe ;" a designing hypocrite, who with plausibility, fluency of speech, 
talents, eloquence, or polite accomplishments, and very evangelical views 
of religion, " serves not our Lord Jesus Christ, but his own belly ; and by 
good words and fair speeches deceives the hearts of die simple." Such a 
man will not shock serious minds by gross antinomianism ; but he will 
insist disproportionately and indiscriminately on privileges, promises, and 
consolatory topics : and thus put his auditors into good humour with them- 
selves, and consequently widi him, in order - to obtain advantages, not so 
easily acquire! by other means. There are many other flatterers : but this 
description, coming far more in die way of evangelical professors than any 
other, seems emphatically to be intended. Satan aims to lull men into a 
fatal secarity, wholly or in part ; flatterers of every kind are his principal 
agents ; and a smooth, undistiuguishing Gospel, united to a want of plain 
dealing in private, has immense influence in this respect. Too often, it is 
to be feared, the preacher uses flattery in the pulpit and the parlour, and is 
reciprocally flattered or rewarded : and what wonder is it, it ungodly men 
take up the business as a lucrative trade, and serve their own selfish pur- 
poses, by quieting uneasy consciences into a false peace, misleading unwary 
souls, entangling incautious believers in a net, and dius bringing a scandal 
on the Gospel? "Satan is transformed into an angel of "light, and his 
ministers into ministers of righteousness :" and if this were the case in die 
apostles' days, in the midst of terrible persecutions, it may well be expected 
that die same attempts will be made at other times. Among persons unac- 
quainted with the Gospel a different method of seduction will be employed ; 
in some places by vain philosophy or Pharisaical self-righteousness, in others 
by enthusiastic imaginations or dreams of siidess perfection : but among 
established Christians, some plausible scheme, flattering men as wise and 
strong in Clirist. and as knowing their liberty and privileges, must be adopt- 
ed: such as were propagated among the Corinthians, or those professors 
whom James, Peter, and Jude successively addressed. In the present state 
of religious profession, a more important caution, I apprehend, caimot be 
given by die united voice of all those ministers, whom the shepherds repre- 
sent, than this, " Beware of the Flatterer ;" of all teachers who address the 
self-preference of the human heart, and thus render men forgetful of " taking 
heed to Uieir way according to the word of God. " For if men overlook the 
precepts of Scripture, and" forsake practical distinguishing preachers, to 
follow such as bolster up their hopes in some smoother way, they will either 
be fatally deceived, or drawn out of the padi of truth and duty, taken in 



186 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

still to consider. And as they were thinking about the 
way, behold a man of black flesh, but covered with a 
very light robe, came to them, and asked them why 
they stood there ? They answered, They were a going 
to the Celestial City, but knew not which of these 
ways to take. " Follow me," says the man, " it is 
thither that I am going." So they followed him in the 
way that but now came into the road, which by degrees 
turned, and turned them so from the city that they de- 
sired to go to, that in a little time their faces were 
turned away from it : yet they followed him. But by 
and by, before they were aware, he led them both 
within the compass of a net, in which they were both 
so entangled that they knew not what to do ; and with 
that the white robe fell off the black man's back : they 
then saw where they were. Wherefore there they 
lay crying some time, for they could not get themselves 
out. 

Then said Christian to his fellow, Now do I see my- 
self in an error. Did not the shepherds bid us beware 
of the flatterers ? As is the saying of the wise man, 
so have we found it this day, " A man that flattereth 
his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet," (Prov. 
xxix, 5.) 

Hope. They also gave us a note of directions about 
the way, for our more sure finding thereof ; but herein 
we have also forgotten to read, and have not kept our- 
selves from the "paths of the destroj^er." Here David 
was wiser than we; for, saith he, "concerning the 
works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me 
from the paths of the destroyer," (Ps. xvii, 4.) Thus 
they lay bewailing themselves in the net. At last 
they spied a shining one coming towards them with a 
whip of small cord in his hand. When he was come 
to the place where they were, he asked them whence 
they came, and what they did there 1 They told him 

the net of error, and entangled among injurious connexions, and with per- 
plexing difficulties : at length indeed they will be undeceived in respect 
of these fine-spoken men, but not till they scarcely know what to do, or 
what will become of them. For when the Lord plucks their feet out 
of the net, he will humble them in the dust for their sin and folly, and 
make them thankful to be delivered, though with severe rebukes and cox- 
lections. 









WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 187 

that they were poor pilgrims going to Zion, but were 
led out of their way by a black man clothed in white, 
who bid us, said they, follow him, for he was going 
thither too. Then said he with the whip, It is a flat- 
terer, " a false apostle, that hath transformed himself 
into an angel of light," (2 Cor. xi, 13, 14 ; Dan. xi, 32.) 
So he rent the net, and let the men out. Then said he 
to them, Follow me, that I may set you in the way 
again : so he led them back to the way which they had 
left to follow the flatterer. Then he asked them, say- 
ing, Where did you lie the last night? They said, 
With the shepherds upon the Delectable Mountains. 
He asked them then if they had not a note of direction 
for the way ? They answered, Yes. But did you, said 
he, when you were at a stand, pluck out and read 
your note ? They answered, No. He asked them, 
Why? They said they forgot. He asked moreover, 
if the shepherds did not bid them beware of the 
flatterer — Yes ; but we did not imagine, said they, that 
this fine-spoken man had been he, (Rom. xvi, IT, 18.) 

Then I saw in my dream, that he commanded them 
to lie down, (Deut. xxix, 2;) which when they did, he 
chastised them sore, to teach them the good way 
wherein they should walk, (2 Chron. vi, 26, 27 :) and,, 
as he chastised them, he said, " As many as I love I 
rebuke and chasten : be zealous, therefore, and repent," 
(Rev. iii, 19.) This done, he bid them go on their way, 
and take good heed to the other directions of the 
shepherds. So they thanked him for all his kindness, 
and went softly along the right way, singing — 

Come hither, you that walk along the way, 
See how the pilgrims fare that go astray : 
They catched are in an entangling net, 
'Cause they good counsel lightly did forget : 
'Tis true, they rescu'd were, but yet you see 
They're scourg'd to boot : let this your caution be. 

Now after a while they perceived, afar off, one 
coming softly, alone, all along the highway to meet 
them, Then said Christian to his fellow, yonder* is a 

* " Yonder" — Some false professors gradually renounce " the truth as it 
is in Jesus ;" others openly set themselves against all kinds of religion, and 
turn scoffers and infidels. Indeed none are more likeiy to become avowed 



m 



183 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

man with his back towards Zion, and he is coming- to 
meet us. 

Hope. I see him, let us take heed to ourselves now. 
lest he should prove a flatterer also. So he drew 
nearer and nearer, and at last came up to them. His 
name was Atheist ; and he asked them whither they 
were going? 

Chr. We are going to mount Zion. 

Then Atheist fell into a very great laughter. 

Chr. What is the meaning of your laughter ? 

Ath. I laugh to see what ignorant persons you are, to 
take upon you so ridiculous a journey ; and yet are 
like to have nothing but your travel for your pains. 

Chr. Why, man ! do you think we shall not be re- 
ceived ? 

Ath. Received ! there is no such place as you dream 
of in all the world. 

Chr. But there is in the world to come. 

Ath. When I was at home, in mine own country, I 
heard as you now affiirm, and from that hearing went 
out to see, and have been seeking this city twenty 
years, but find no more of it than I did the first day 1 
set out, (Eccl. x, 15 ; Jer. xvii. 15.) 

Chr. We have both heard and believe that there is 
such a place to be found. 

Ath. Haa. not I, when at home, believed, I had not 

atheists, than such as have for many years professed the Gospel in hypoc- 
risy : ihey often acquire an acquaintance with the several parts of religion, 
their connexion with each other, aud the arguments with which they are 
supported ; so that they know not where to begin, if they would oppose any 
particular doctrine or precept of revelation : yet they hate die whole sys- 
tem ; and, having never experienced those effects from the ttuth, which die 
Scripture ascribes to it, they feel, that if there be any reality in religion, 
their own case is very dreadful, and wish to shake off this mortifying and 
alarming conviction: and, as they have principally associated with loose 
professors, and witnessed much folly and wickedness among them, they 
willingly take up a bad opinion of all who pretend to piety (as rakes com- 
monly revile all women,) and so diey make a desperate plunge, and treat 
the whole of religion as imposture and delusion ; pretending, that upon a 
thorough investigation, they find it to be a compound of knavery, folly, 
and fanaticism. Thus God in awftd judgment permits Satan to blind their 
eyes, because they " obeyed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteous- 
ness." Men set out with a dead faith and a worldly heart, and at length 
occupy the seat of the scorner I The vain reasonings and contemptuous 
sneers of such apostates may turn aside other unsound characters, and per- 
plex new converts ; but theexperience of established believers will fortify 
them against these manifest delusions ; corrections for previous mistakes 
will render them jealous of themselves and one anodier ; so diat they will 
go on their way with greater circumspection, and pity the scorner who ridi- 
cules them. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 189 

come thus far to seek ; but finding none, (and yet I 
should, had there been such a place to be found, for I 
have gone to seek it farther than you,) I am going back 
again, and will seek to refresh myself with the things 
that I then cast away for hopes of that which I now 
see is not. 

Then said Christian to Hopeful his companion, Is it 
true which this man hath said ? 

Hope. Take heed, he is one of the flatterers : remem- 
ber what it has cost us once already for our hearkening 
to such kind of fellows. What ! no mount Zion 1 Did 
we not see from the Delectable Mountains the gate of 
the city 1 Also, are we not now to walk by faith 1 (2 Cor, 
v, 7.) Let us go on, said Hopeful, lest the man with 
the w r hip overtake us again. You should have taught 
me that lesson which I will round you in the ears 
withal : " Cease, my son, to. hear the instruction that 
causeth to err from the words of knowledge," (Prov. 
xix, 27; Heb. x, 39 ;) I say, my brother, cease to hear 
him, and let us believe to the saving of the soul. 

Chr. My brother, I did not put the question to thee 
for that I doubted of the truth of your belief myself, but 
to prove thee, and to fetch from thee a fruit of the ho- 
nest) 7 of thy heart. As for this man, I know that he is 
blinded by the god of this world. Let thee and I go on, 
knowing that we have belief of the truth, and " no lie 
is of the truth," (1 John ii, 21.) 

Hope. Now I do rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 
So they turned away from the man, and he, laughing 
at them, went his way. 

I saw then in my dream, that they went till they came 
into a certain country, whose air naturally tended to 
make one drowsy, if he came a stranger into it. And 
here Hopeful began to be very dull and heavy of sleep: 
wherefore he said unto Christian, I now begin to grow 
so drowsy that 1 can scarcely hold up mine eyes ; let 
us lie down here, and take one nap. 

By no means, said the other, lest sleeping we never 
awake more. 

Hope. Why, my brother ? sleep is sweet to the labour- 
ing man ; we may be refreshed if we take a nap. 

Chr. Do you not remember, that one of the shepherds 



190 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 



bid us beware of the Enchanted* Ground 1 He meant 
by that, that we should beware of sleeping ; " where- 
fore let us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch 
and be* sober/' (1 Thess. v, 6.) 

Hope. I acknowledge myself in a fault ; and, had I 
been here alone, I had by sleeping run the danger of 
death. I see it is true that the wise man saith, " Two 
are better than one,'' (Eccl. iv. 9.) Hitherto hath thy 
company been my mercy ; and thou shalt " have a good 
reward for thy labour." 

Now then, said Christian, to prevent drowsiness in 
this place, let us fall into good discourse. 

With all my heart, said the other. 

Car. Where shall we begin? 

Hope. Where God began with us ; but do yon begin, 
if you please. 

Chr. I will sing you first this song — 

When saints do sleepy grow, let them come hither, 
And hear how these two pilgrims talk together : 
Yea, let them learn of them in any wise 
Thus to keep ope their drowsy slumb'ring eyes. 
Saints' fellowship, if it be manag'd well, 
Keeps them awake, and that in spite of hell. 

Then Christian began, and said, I will ask you a 
question ; how came you to think at first of doing what 
you do now ? 

* " Enchanted-— The Enchanted Ground may represent a state of 
exemption from peculiar trials, and of worldly prosperity, especially when 
Christians are unexpectedly advanced in their outward circumstances, or 
enga^ed in extensive flourishing business. A concurrence of agreeable clis- 
succeed to long continued difficulties: the believer's 
peace is little interrupted, but he has not very high affections or consola- 
tions : he meets with respect and attention from his friends and acquaint- 
ance, and is dr; - -ess in his secular undertakings. This pow- 
erfully tends, through remaining depravity, to produce a lethargic" and 
indolent frame of mind : the man attends on religious ordinances, and the 
constant succession of duties, more from habit and conscience, than from 
delight in the service of God: and even they, who have acquitted them- 
selves in a varied course of trials and conflicts, often lose much of their 
vigour, activity, and vigilance, in these fascinating circumstances. No 
situation, in which a believer can be placed, requires so much watchfulness 
as tins tloes: other experiences resemble storms, which keep a man awake 
gainst his will : this is a treacherous calm, which invites and lulls 
him to slepp. But pious discourse, the jealous cautions of faidiful friends, 
and recollections of the Lord's dealings with us in times past, are admi- 
rably suited to counteract this tendency. The subsequent dialogue con- 
author's own exposition of several particulars in the preceding 
allegory. 



. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 19! 

Hope. Do you mean, how came I at first to look after 
the good of my soul 1 

Chr. Yes, that is my meaning - . 

Hope. I continued a great while in the delight of 
those things which were seen and sold at our fair ; 
things which I believe now would have, had 1 continued 
in them still, drowned me in perdition and destruction. 

Chr. What things are they 1 

Hope. All the treasures and riches of the world. Also 
I delighted much in rioting, revelling, drinking, swear- 
ing, lying, uncleanness, sabbath-breaking, and whatnot, 
that tended to destroy the soul. But I found, at last, by 
hearing and considering of things that are divine, which 
indeed I heard of you, as also of the beloved Faithful, 
that was put to death for his faith and good living in 
Vanity-fair, that "the end of these things is death;" 
and that " for these things' sake, the wrath of God 
cometh upon the children of disobedience, (Rom. vi, 
21—23 ; Eph. v, 6.) 

Chr. And did you presently fall under the power of 
this conviction? 

Hope. No, I was not willing presently to know the' 
evil of sin, nor the damnation that follows upon the 
commission of it ; but endeavoured, when my mind at 
first began to be shaken with the word, to shut mine 
eyes against the light thereof. 

Chr. But what was the cause of your carrying of it 
thus to the first workings of God's blessed Spirit upon 
you?" 

Hope. The causes were — 1. I was ignorant that this 
was the work of God upon me. I never thought, that 
by awakenings for sin God at first begins the conversion 
of a sinner. 2. Sin was yet very sweet to my flesh, and 
I was loth to leave it. 3. I could not tell hbw to part 
with my old companions, their presence and actions 
were so desirable unto me. 4. The hours in which con- 
victions were upon me were such troublesome and such 
heart-affrighting hours, that I could not bear, no not so 
much as the remembrance of them upon my heart. 

Chr. Then, it seems, sometimes you got relief of 
your trouble 1 

Hope. Yes, verily, but it would come into my mind 



192 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

again, and then I would be as bad, nay, worse than I 
was before. 

Chr. Why, what was it that brought your sins to 
mind again ! 

Hope. Many tilings ; as, if I did but meet a good man 
in the street ; or if I had heard any read in the Bible ; 
or if mine head did begin to ache : or if I were told 
that some of my neighbours were sick ; or if I heard 
the bell toll for some that were dead ; or if I thought 
of dying myself; or if I heard that sudden death hap- 
pened to others ; but especially when I thought of my- 
self, that I must quickly come to judgment. 

Chr. And could you at any time, with ease, get off 
the guilt* of sin, when by any of these ways it came 
upon you 1 

Hope. No, not I ; for then they got faster hold of my 
conscience ; and then, if I did but think of going back 
to sin, (though my mind was turned against it,) it would 
be double torment to me. 

Chr. And how did you do then ! 

Hope. I thought I must endeavour to mend my life ; 
for else, thought I, I am sure to be damned. 

Chr. And did you endeavour to amend ? 

Hope. Yes : and fled from, not only my sins, but sin- 
ful company too, and betook me to religious duties, as 
praying, reading, weeping for sin, speaking truth to my 
neighbours, &c. These things did I, with many other, 
too much here to relate. 

Chr. And did you think yourself well then ? 

Hope. Yes, for awhile ; but at the last my trouble 
came tumbling upon me again, and that over the neck 
of all my reformation. 

Chr. How came that about, since you were now 
reformed? 



* " Guilt"— This word is used, here and in other places, not to signify the 
evil of sin in the sight of God, and the transgressor's deserved liableness to 
punishment; but the remorse and fear of wrath, with which the convinced 
sinner is oppressed, and from which he often seeks relief by means which 
exceedingly increase his actual guilt. Nothing, except a free pardon, by 
faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, can take away guilt ; but the uneasi- 
ness of a man's conscience may be for a time removed by various expedi- 
ents. The words guilt or guilty are often used in Uiis latter sense by modern 
divines, but it does not seem to be scrip tually accurate, and may produce 
misapprehensions. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 193 

Mope. There were several things brought it upon me ; 
especially such sayings as these — " All our righteous- 
nesses are as filthy rags;"—" By the works of the law- 
no man shall be justified ;"— " When we have done all, 
these things, say, We are unprofitable," (Isa. lxiv, 6; 
Luke xvii, 10 ; Gal. ii, 16 :) with many more such like. 
From whence I began to reason with myself, thus : if 
all my righteousnesses are filthy rags : if by the deeds 
of the law no man can be justified ; and if, when we 
have done all, we are unprofitable — then it is but a 
folly to think of heaven by the law. I farther thought 
thus — if a man runs a hundred pounds into the shop- 
keeper's debt, and after that shall pay for all that he 
shall fetch — yet, if this old debt stands still in the book 
uncrossed, for that the shopkeeper may sue him, and 
cast him into prison till he shall pay the debt. 

Chr. Well, and how did you apply this to yourself? 

Hope. Why, I thought with myself, I have by my 
sins run a great way into God's book, and that my now 
reforming will not pay off that score : therefore I should 
think still, under all my present amendments, But how 
shall I be freed from that damnation that I brought 
m} r self in danger of by my former transgressions? 

Chr. A very good application ; but pray go on. 

Hope. Another thing that hath troubled me, ever 
since my late amendments, is, that, if I look narrowly 
into the best of what I do now, I still see sin, new sin, 
mixing itself with the best of that I do ; so that now I 
am forced to conclude, that, notwithstanding my for- 
mer fond conceits of myself and duties, I have com- 
mitted sin enough in one duty to send me to hell, 
though my former life had been faultless. 

Chr. And what did you do then ? 

Hope. Do ! I could not tell what to do, till I broke my 
mind to Faithful ; for he and I were well acquainted. 
And he told me, that unless I could obtain the righteous- 
ness of a man that never had sinned, neither my own, 
nor all the righteousness of the world, could save me. 

Chr. And did you think he spake true ? 

Hope. Had he told me so when I was pleased and 
satisfied with my own amendment, I had called him 
fool for his pains ; but now, since I see my own in 
F3 9 



194 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

firmity, and the sin which cleaves to my best perform- 
ance, I have been forced to be of his opinion. 

Chr. But did y ou think, when at first he suggested it 
co you, that there was such a man to be found, of 
whom it might justly be said that he never committed 
sin? 

Hope. I must confess the words at first sounded 
strangely, but, after a little more talk and company with 
Him, I had full conviction about it. 

Chr. And did you ask him what man this was, and 
now you must be justified by him, (Rom. iv ; Col. i ; 
Heb. x; 2 Pet. i.) 

Hope. Yes, and he told me it was the Lord Jesus, 
that dwelleth on the right hand of the Most High : 
And thus, said he, you must be justified by him — even 
by trusting to what he hath done by himself in the day 
of his flesh, and suffered when he did hang on the tree. 
I asked him farther, how that man's righteousness 
could be of that efficacy to justify another before God 1 
And he told me he was the mighty God, and did what 
he did, and died the death also, not for himself, but for 
me, to whom his doing and the worthiness of them 
should be imputed, if I believed on him. 

Car. And what did you do then 1 

Hope. L made my objections against my believing, 
for that I thought he was not willing to save me. 

Chr. And what said Faithful to you then ? 

Hope. He bid me go to him and see. Then I said it 
was presumption. He said, No, for I was invited to 
come, (Matt, xi, 28.) Then he gave me a book of 
Jesus's inditing, to encourage me the more freely to 
come ; and he said, concerning that book, that every 
jot and tittle thereof stood firmer than heaven and 
earth, (Matt, xxiv, 35.) Then I asked him what I must 
do when I came % And he told me I must intreat upon 
my knees, (Ps. xcv, 6 ; Jer. xxix. 12, 13 ; Dan. vi, 10,) 
with all my heart and soul, the Father to reveal him to 
me. Then I asked him farther, how I must make my 
supplication to him ! x\nd he said, Go, and thou shalt 
find him upon a mercy-seat, (Exod. xxv. 22 ; Lev. xvi, 2 ; 
Heb. iv, 16,) where he sits, all the year long, to give 
pardon and forgiveness to them that come. I told him 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 195 

that I knew not what to say when I came. And he bid 
me to say to this effect — " God be merciful to me a 
sinner," and make me to know and believe in Jesus 
Christ; for I see, that if his righteousness had not 
been, or I have not faith in that righteousness, I am 
utterly cast away. Lord, I have heard that thou art a 
merciful God, and hast ordained that thy Son Jesus 
Christ should be the Saviour of the world ; and, more- 
over, that thou art willing to bestow him upon such a 
poor sinner as I am, (and I am a sinner indeed :) Lord, 
take therefore this opportunity, and magnify thy grace 
in the salvation of my soul, through thy Son Jesus 
Christ. Amen. 
Chr. And did you do as you were bidden 1 
Hope. Yes, over, and over, and over. 
Chr. And did the Father reveal the Son to you ? 
Hope. Not at first, nor second, nor third, nor fourth, 
nor fifth, no, nor at the sixth time neither, 
Chr. What did you do then? 
Hope. What ! why I could not tell what to do. 
Chr. Had you not thoughts of leaving off praying ? 
Hope. Yes, and a hundred times twice told. 
Chr. And what was the reason you did not ? 
Hope. I believed that that was true which hath been 
told me ; to wit, that without the righteousness of this 
Christ all the world could not save me : and therefore, 
thought I with myself, if I leave off I die, and I can but 
die at the throne of grace. And withal this came into 
my mind, " If it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely 
come, and will not tarry," (Hab. ii,3.) So I continued, 
until the Father shewed me his Son. 
Chr. And how was he revealed unto you ? 
Hope. I did not see him with my bodily eyes, but with 
the eyes of my understanding, (Eph. i, 18, 19,) and thus 
it was : one day I was very sad, I think sadder than at 
any one time of my life ; and this sadness was through 
a fresh sight of the greatness and vileness of my sins. 
And as I was then looking for nothing but hell, and 
the everlasting damnation of my soul, suddenly, as I 
thought, I saw the Lord Jesus look down from heaven 
upon me, and saying, "Believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and thou shalt be saved," (Acts xvi, 30, 31.) 



m THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

But I replied, Lord, I am a great, a very great sinner r 
and he answered, "My grace is sufficient for thee." 
Then I said, But, Lord, what is believing ? And then 
I saw from that saying, " He that cometh to me shall 
never hunger, and he that belie veth on me shall never 
thirst," (John vi, 35.) that believing and coming* was 
all one ; and that he that came, fhat is, ran out in his 
heart and affection after salvation by Christ, he indeed 
believed in Christ. Then the water stood in mine eyes, 
and I asked farther, But, Lord, may such a great sinner 
as I am be indeed accepted of thee, and be saved by 
thee ? And I heard him say, " And him that cometh to 
me, I will in no wise cast out, (John vi, 37.) Then I 
said, But how, Lord, must I consider of thee in my 
coming to thee, that my faith may be placed aright 
upon thee ? Then he said, " Christ came into the 
world to save sinners ;" " he is the end of the law for 
righteousness to everyone that believes;" "he died 
for our sins, and rose again for our justification ;" " he 
loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own 
blood;" u he is Mediator betwixt God and us ;" "he 
ever liveth to make intercession for us," (1 Tim. i, 15; 
Rom. x, 4 ; Heb. vii, 2-1. 25.) From all which I gathered, 
that I must look for righteousness in his person, and 
for satisfaction for my sins by his blood ; that which he 
did in obedience to his father's law, and in submitting- 



* " Coming"— Coming to Christ is properly the effect of faith : yet the 
la.n2T.iage here used is warranted by Scripture. The word reveal, and the 
vision of Christ conversing with Hopeful, seem to sanction such things as 
have been greatly mistaken and abused, and have occasioned many scan- 
dals and objections : yet it is evident, that the author meant nothing contrary 
to the most sober statement of scriptural truth. Christ did not appear to 
Hopeful's senses, but to his understanding : and the words spoken are no 
other dian texts of Scripture taken in that genuine meaning ; not informing' 
him, as by a new revelation, that his sins were pardoned, but encouraging 
him to apply for this ma'cy, and all other blessings of salvation. So that, 
allowing tor the nature of an allegory, the whole account for substance 
exaetly'coincides with the experience* of the most sober Christians : who, 
having been deeply humbled, and ready to sink under discouragement, 
have had such views of the love of Christ, of his glorious salvation, the 
ireeness of the invitations, the largeness of the promises, and the nature 
of justifying faith, as have " filled them with peace and joy in believing :'* 
and these nave been followed by those abiding effects afterwards de- 
scribed, which completely distinguish them from all the false joys of 
hypocrites and enthusiasts. Others indeed cannot relate so orderly an 
account of their convictions and comforts ; yet they are brought (though 
by varied methods) to the same reliance oa Christ, and the same devoted, 
obedience. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 197 

to the penalty thereof, was not for himself, but for him. 
that will accept it for his salvation, and be thankful. 
And now was my heart full of joy, mine eyes full of 
tears, and mine affections running over with love to 
the name, people, and ways of Jesus Christ. 

Chr. This was a revelation of Christ to your soul 
indeed ; but tell me particularly what effect tins had 
upon your spirit. 

Hope. It made me see that all the world, notwith- 
standing all the righteousness thereof, is in a state of 
condemnation : it made me see that God the Father, 
though he be just, can justly justify the coming sin- 
ner : it made me greatly ashamed of the vileness of 
my former life, and confounded me with the sense of 
mine own ignorance ; for there never came a thought 
into my heart, before now, that shewed me so the 
beauty of Jesus Christ : it made me love a holy life, 
and long to do something for the honor and glory of the 
Lord Jesus ; yea, I thought, that had I iioav a thousand 
gallons of blood in my body, I could spill it all for the 
sake of the Lord Jesus. 

I saw then in my dream that Hopeful looked back 
and saw Ignorance, whom they had left behind, coming 
after : Look, said he to Christian, how far yonder 
youngster loitereth behind. 

Chr. Ay, ay, I see him : he careth not for our com- 
pany. 

Hope. But I trow it would not have hurt him, had he 
kept pace with us hitherto. 

Chr. That is true ; but I'll warrant you he thinketh 
otherwise. 

Hope. That I think he doth : but, however, let us 
tarry for him. So they did. 

Then Christian said to him, Come away, man, why 
do you stay so behind 1 

Ignor. I take * my pleasure in walking alone ; even 
more a great deal than in company ; unless I like it 
better. 



* "I take"— In the following dialogue Ignorance speaks exacts in 
character; and the answers of the pilgrims are conclusive against such 
absurd and unscriptural grounds of confidence as are continually m^ia* 
tained by many who would be thought pious Christians. 

F4 



198 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Then said Christian to Hopeful, (but softly,) Did 2 
not tell you he cared not for our company 1 But, how- 
ever, said he, come up and let us talk away the time in 
this solitary place. Then, directing his speech to 
Ignorance, he said, Come, how do you ? how stands it 
between God and your soul now ? 

Ignor. I hope well, for I am always full of g-ood mo- 
tions, that come into my mind to comfort me as I walk. 

Chr. What good motions? pray tell us. 

Ignor. Why, I think of God and heaven. 

Chr. So do the devils and damned souls. 

Ignor. But I think of them and desire * them. 

Chr. So do many that are never like to come there. 
" The soul of the sluggard desires, and hath nothing-," 
(Prov. xiii, 4,) 

Ignor. But I think of them, and leave all for them. 

Chr. That I doubt : for leaving of all is a hard matter ; 
yea, a harder matter than many are aware of. But 
why, or by what, art thou persuaded that thou hast 
left all for God and heaven ? 

Ignor. My heart tells me so. 

Chr. The wise man says, " He that trusts his own 
heart is a fool," (Prov. xxviii, 26.) 

Ignor. This is spoken of an evil heart, but mine js a 
good one. 

Chr. But how dost thou prove that !' 

Ignor. It comforts t me in hopes of heaven. 

Chr. That may be through its deceitfulness ; for a 
man's heart may minister comfort to him, in the hopes 
of that thing for which he yet has no ground to hope. 

* " Desire" — The desire of heavenly felicity, when the real nature of it is 
not understood, the proper means of obtaining it are neglected, other objects 
are preferred to it. or slcth and procrastination intervene, is no proof" that 
a man will be saved. In like manner this expression," " the desire of grace 
is grace/' must be owned to be very fallacious and ambiguous. Men~inay 
be notionally convinced diat without grace they must perish, and mere 
selfishness may excite some feeble desires after it : though worldly affec- 
tions predominate, and the real value of the spiritual good is not per- 
ceived. But to hunger and thirst for God and his righteousness, his 
fatour. image, and service, as die supreme good, so that no other object 
can satisfy die earnest desire of die heart, and every thing is renounced 
that interferes with the pursuit of it. is grace indeed, and shall be completed 
in glory. 

f "Comforts" — It is exceedingly dangerous to make comfort a ground 
of confidence ; unless the nature, source, concomitants, and effect of that 
corf bit be considered ; for it may result entirely from ignorance and self- 
flattery, in a variety of ways. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 199 

Ignor. But my heart and life agree together; and 
therefore my hope is well grounded. 

Chr. Who told thee that thy heart and life agree 
together 1 

Ignor. My heart tells me. 

Chr. "Ask my fellow if I be a thief?" Thy heart 
tells thee so ! except the word of God beareth witness 
in this matter, other testimony is no value. 

Ignor. But is it not a good heart that has good 
thoughts ? and is not that a good life that is according 
to God's commandments 1 

Chr. Yes, that is a good heart that hath good thoughts, 
and that is a good life that is according to God's com- 
mandments ; but it is one thing indeed to have these, 
and another thing only to think so. 

Ignor. Pray what count you good thoughts, and a 
life according to God's commandments 1 

Chr. There are good thoughts of divers kinds ; some 
respecting ourselves, some— God, some— Christ, and 
some — other things. 

Ignor. What be good thoughts respecting ourselves ? 

Chr. Such as agree with the word of God. 

Ignor. When do our thoughts of ourselves agree with 
the word of God ? 

Chr. When we pass the same judgment upon our- 
selves which the word passes. To explain myself: 
the word of God saith of persons in a natural * con- 
dition, " There is none righteous, there is none that 
doeth good." It saith also, that " every imagination 
of the heart of man is only evil, and that continually," 
(Gen. vi, 5 ; Rom. iii.) And again, " The imagination 
of man's heart is evil from his youth." Now then, 
when we think thus of ourselves, having sense thereof, 
then are our thoughts good ones, because according to 
the word of God. 

Ignor. I will never believe that my heart is thus bad. 

* " Natural" — " That which is born of the flesh is flesh ;" " the carnal 
mind is enmity against God ; is not subject to his law, neither indeed can 
be : so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God ;" for " they are by 
nature the children of wradi." This is man's natural condition : but of the 
regenerate it is said, " Ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit :" " for that 
which is born of the Spirit is spirit ;" and to such persons the texts adduced 
do not apply. 



200 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Chr. Therefore thou never hadst one good thought 
concerning thyself in thy life. But let me go on. As 
the. word passeth a judgment upon our heart, so it 
passeth a judgment upon our ways ; and when the 
thoughts of our hearts and ways agree with the judg- 
ment which the word giveth of both, then are both 
good, because agreeing thereto. 

Ignor. Make out your meaning. 

Chr. Why, the word of God saith that man's ways 
are crooked ways, not good, but perverse : it saith they 
are naturally out of the good way ; that they have not 
known it, (Ps. cxxv, 5; Prov. ii, 15.) Now when a 
man thus thinketh of his ways, I say when he doth 
sensibly, and with heart-humiliation, thus think, then 
hath he good thoughts of his own ways, because his 
thoughts now agree with the judgment of the word of 
God. 

Ignor. What are good thoughts concerning God ? 

Chr. Even, as I have said concerning ourselves, 
when our thoughts of God do agree with ' what the 
word saith of him ; and that is when we speak of his 
being and attributes as the word hath taught ; of which 
I cannot now discourse at large. But to speak of him 
in reference to us ; then we have right thoughts of God 
when we think that he knows us better than we know 
ourselves, and can see sin in us when and where we 
can see none in ourselves : when we think he knows 
our inmost thoughts, and that oar heart, with all its 
depths, is always open unto his eyes : also when we 
think that all our righteousness stinks * in his nostrils, 

* "Stinks" — The external services performed by unregenerate persons 
from selfish motives, being scanty and partial, and made the ground of self- 
eomplacency, and the pride of self-righteousness, " are abomination in the 
sight of God," however i; highly esteemed among men :" for men " look 
at the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh at the heart." Even the 
obedience of a true believer, though it springs from right principles, and 
has some spiritual excellency in it, is yet so defective and defiled by sin, 
that if it were not accepted as the fruit of the Spirit, tlirough the mediation 
of Christ, it would be condemned by the holy law, and rejected with abhor- 
rence by a God of infinite purity. Men may allow this in words, and yet 
not know what it is to come, as condemned sinners, for a free justification 
and salvation, by faith in Christ. The way of being justified by faith, for 
which Ignorance pleads, may well be called " fantastical," as well as 
" false ;" for it is nowhere laid down in Scripture : and it not only changes 
the way of acceptance, but it takes away the rule and standard of righteous- 
ness, and substitutes a vague notion, called sincerity, in its place, which 
never was, nor can be, denned with precision. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 201 

and that therefore he cannot abide to see us stand be- 
fore him in any confidence, even in all our best per- 
formances. 

Ignor. Do you think that I am such a fool as to think 
God can see no farther than I? or that I would come 
to God in the best of my performances ? 

Chr. Why, how dost thou thinK in this matter 1 

Ignor. Why, to be short, I think I must believe in 
Christ for justification. 

Chr. How ! think thou must believe in Christ, when 
thou see st not thy need of him! Thou neither seest 
thy original nor actual infirmities ; but hast such an 
opinion of thyself, and of what thou doest, as plainly 
renders thee to be one that did never see a necessity 
of Christ's personal righteousness to justify thee before 
God. How then dost thou say, I believe in Christ ? 

Ignor. I believe well enough for all that. 

Chr. How dost thou believe ? 

Ignor. I believe that Christ died for sinners ; and that 
I shall be justified before God from the curse, through 
his gracious acceptance of my obedience to his laws. 
Or thus : Christ makes my duties, that are religious, 
acceptable to his Father by virtue of his merits, and so 
shall I be justified. 

Chr. Let us give an answer to this confession of thy 
faith. 

1. Thou believest with a fantastical faith ; for this 
faith is nowhere described in the word. 

2. Thou believest with a false faith ; because thou 
takest justification from the personal righteousness of 
Christ, and appliest it to thy own. 

3. This faith maketh not Christ a justifier of thy per- 
son, but of thy actions ; and of thy person for thy ac- 
tions' sake, which is false. 

4. Therefore this faith is deceitful, even such as will 
leave thee under wrath in the day of God Almighty : 
for true justifying faith puts the soul, as sensible of its 
lost condition by the law, upon fleeing for refuge unto 
Christ's righteousness (which righteousness of his is 
not an act of grace by which he maketh, for justifica- 
tion, thy obedience accepted of God, but his personal 
obedience to the law, in doing and suffering for us 



202 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

what that required at our hands ;) this righteousness, 
I say, true faith accepteth ; under the skirt of which 
the soul being shrouded, and by it presented as spotless 
before God, it is accepted, and acquits from condemna- 
tion. 

Ignor. What, would you have us trust to what 
Christ in his own person hath done without us 1 This 
conceit would loosen the reins of our lust, and tolerate 
us to live as we list : for what matter how we live, if 
we may be justified by Christ's personal righteousness 
from all, when we believe it ? 

Chr. Ignorance is thy name, and as thy name is so 
art thou ; even this thy answer demonstrated what I 
say. Ignorant thou art of what justifying righteous- 
ness is, and as ignorant how to secure thy soul, through 
the faith of it, from the heavy wrath of God. Yea, 
thou also art ignorant of the true effect of saving faith 
in this righteousness of Christ, which is to bow and 
win over the heart to God in Christ, to love his name, 
his word, ways, and people, and not as thou ignorantly 
imaginest. 

Hope. Ask him if ever he had Christ revealed to him 
from heaven ? 

Ignor. What ! you are a man for revelations ! I do 
believe that what both you and all the rest of you say 
about that matter is but the fruit of distracted brains. 

Hope. Why, man ! Christ is so hid* in God from the 
natural apprehensions of the flesh, that he cannot by 
any man be savingly known, unless God the Father 
reveals him to them. 

Ignor. That is your faith, but not mine ; yet mine, I 
doubt not, is as good as yours, though I have not in 
my head so many whimsies as you. 

Chr. Give me leave to put in a word :— you ought 
not to speak so slightly of this matter ; for this I boldly 
affirm, (even as my good companion hath done,) that no 
man can know Jesus Christ but by the revelation of the 
Father; yea, and faith too, by which the soul layeth 

* " Hid"— Pride, unbelief, and carnal prejudices or affections, so close 
the mind of a sinner against the spiritual glory of the person and redemp- 
tion of Christ, that nothing but the illumination of the Spirit removing this 
veil, can enable him to understand and receive the revelation of the sacred 
oracles on these important subjects. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 203 

hold upon Christ, (if it be right,) must be wrought by 
the exceeding greatness of his mighty power, (Matt, xi, 
27 ; 1 Cor. xii, 3 ; Eph. i, 18, 19 ;) the working of which 
faith, I perceive, poor Ignorance, thou art ignorant of. 
Be awakened then, see thine own wretchedness, and 
flee to the Lord Jesus ; and by his righteousness, which 
is the righteousness of God, (for he himself is God,) 
thou shalt be delivered from condemnation. 

Ignor. You go so fast I cannot keep pace with you : 
do you go on before ; I must stay awhile behind. 
Then they said- 
Well, Ignorance, wilt thou yet foolish be 
To slight good counsel, ten times given thee 1 
And if thou yet refuse it, thou shalt know, 
Ere long, the evil of thy doing so. 
Remember, man, in time ; stop, do not fear, 
Good counsel taken well saves ; therefore hear ; 
But if thou yet shall slight it, thou wilt be 
The loser, Ignorance, I'll warrant thee. 

Then Christian addressed himself thus to his fellow : 

Chr. Well, come, my good Hopeful, I perceive that 
thou and I must walk by ourselves again. 

So I saw in my dream, that they went on apace be- 
fore, and Ignorance, he came hobbling after. Then 
said Christian to his companion, it pities me much 
for this poor man ; it will certainly go ill with him at 
last. 

Hope. Alas ! there are abundance in our town in 
this condition, whole families, yea, whole streets, and 
that of pilgrims* too ; and if there be so many in our 
parts, how many, think you, must there be in the place 
where he was born ? 

Chr. Indeed the word saith, " He hath blindeth their 
eyes, lest they should see," &c. 

But, now we are by ourselves, what do you think of 
such men? have they at no time, think you, convictions 
of sin, and so consequently fear that their state is dan- 
gerous 1 

* ''Pilgrims"— If such numbers of ignorant personsmay be found among 
the apparently religions, what must be the case of those who are left without 
instruction to their native pride and self-conceit! 



204 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS 



Hope. Nay, do you answer that question 3<ourself, 
for you are the elder man. 

Chr. Then I say, sometimes, (as I think,) they may; 
but they,* being- naturally ignorant, understand not 
that such convictions tend to their good; and therefore 
they do desperately seek to stifle them, and presump- 
tuously continue to flatter themselves in the way of 
their own hearts. 

Hope. I do believe, as you say, that fear tends 
much to men's good, and to make them right at their 
beginning to go on pilgrimage. 

Chr. Without all doubt it doth, if it be right : for so 
says the word, " The fear of the Lord is the beginning 
of wisdom," (Job xxviii, 28; Ps. cxi, 10; Prov. i, 7; 
ix, 10.) 

Hope. How will you describe right fear? 

Chr. True or right fear is discovered by three things : 
1. By its rise : it is caused by saving convictions for 
sin. 2. It drive th the soul to lay fast hold of Christ 
for salvation. 3. It begetteth and continueth in the 
soul a great reverence of God, his word, and ways, 
keeping it tender, and making it afraid to turn from 
them, to the right hand or to the left, to any thing that 
may dishonour God, break its peace, grieve the spirit, 
or cause the enemy to speak reproachfully. 

Hope. Well said ! I believe you have said the truth. 
Are we now almost got past the Enchanted Ground? 

Chr. Why? art thou weary of this discourse ? 

Hope. No verily, but that I would know where we 
are. 

Chr. We have not now above two miles farther to go 

* " But they"— Fears of wrath are too generally ascribed to unbelief, 
and deemed prejudicial : but this arises from ignorance and mistake ; for 
belief of God's testimony must excite fears in every heart, till it is clearly 
perceived how that wrath may be escaped ; and doubts minded with hopes 
must arise from faith, till a man is conscious of having experienced a saving 
change. These fears and doubts excite men to self-examination, watchful- 
ness, and diligence, and thus tend to the believer's establishment, and " the 
full assurance of hope unto the end :" while the want of diem often results 
from unbelief and stupidity of conscience, and terminates in carnal security 
and abuse of the Gospel. They may indeed be excessive and unreasonable, 
and the effect of unbelief: but it is better to mark the extreme, and caution 
men against it, than by declaiming indiscriminately against all doubts and 
fears, to help sinners to deceive themselves, and discourage weak believers 
from earnestly using the scriptural means of " making their calling and 
eleciionsure." 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 205 

thereon. But let us return to our matter. Now the 
ignorant know not that such convictions that tend to 
put them in fear are for their good, and therefore they 
seek to stifle them. 

Hope. How do they seek to stifle them? 

Chr. 1. They think that those fears are wrought by 
the devil, (though indeed they are wrought by God;) 
and, thinking so, they resist them, as things that di- 
rectly tend to their overthrow. 2. They also think 
that these fears tend to the spoiling of their faith ; 
when alas for them, poor men that they are, they have 
none at all ! — and therefore they harden their hearts 
against them. 3. They presume they ought not to fear, 
and therefore in despite of them wax presumptuously 
confident. 4. They see that those fears tend to take 
away from them their pitiful* old self-holiness, and 
therefore they resist them with all their might. 

Hope. I know something of this myself: before I 
knew myself it was so with me. 

Chr. Well, we will leave, at this time, our neighbour 
Ignorance by himself, and fall upon another profitable 
question. 

Hope. With all my heart : but you shall still begin. 

Chr. Well, then, did you* know, about ten years 
ago, one Temporary, in your parts, who was a forward 
man in religion then ? 



* " Pitiful"— The expression, "pitiful old self-holiness," denotes the 
opinion that ignorant persons entertain of their hearts as good and holy ; 
while the term " self-righteousness" relates to their supposed good lives: but 
nothing can be farther from our author's meaning, than to speak against 
" sanctification by the Spirit unto obedience," as evidential of our union 
with Christ, and acceptance in his righteousness. 

t " Did you" — Temporary was doctrinally acquainted with the Gospel, 
but a stranger to its sanctifying power. Such men have been forward in 
religion, but that is now past ; for diey were always graceless, and came 
short of honesty in their profession, if not in their moral conduct, and were 
ever ready to turn back into the world at a convenient season. They have 
indeed been alarmed : but terror without humiliation will never subvert 
self-confidence : and of the numbers with whom some ministers converse 
under trouble of conscience, and of whom they hope well, how many dis- 
appoint their expectations, and after a time plunge deeper into sin than ever ! 
Such convictions resemble the blossoms of the fruit-tree, which precede the 
ripe fruit, but do not always produce it ; so that we cannot say, " die more 
blossoms there are, the greater abundance will there be of fruit;" though 
we may be assured that there can be no fruit if there be no blossoms. The 
reasons and the manner of such men's declensions and apostacy are very 
Justly and emphatically stated ; though perhaps not with sufficient delicacy 
to suit the taste of this fastidious age. 



206 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Hope. Know him! yes, he dwelt in Graceless, a 
town about two miles off of Honesty, and he dwelt 
next door to one Turnback. 

Chr. Right, he dwelt under the same roof with him. 
Well, that man was much awakened once ; I believe 
that then he had some sight of his sins, and of the 
w r ages that were due thereto. 

Hope. I am of your mind, for (my house not being 
above three miles from him,) he would oft-times come 
to me, and that with many tears. Truly, I pitied the 
man, and was not altogether without hope of him: 
but, one may see, it is not every one that cries Lord, 
Lord. 

Chr. He told me once that he was resolved to go on 
pilgrimage, as we go now ; but all of a sudden he grew 
acquainted with one Save self, and then he became a 
stranger to me. 

Hope. Now, since we are talking about him, let us a 
little enquire into the reason of the sudden backsliding 
of him and such others. 

Chr. It may be very profitable ; but do you begin. 

Hope. Well, then, there are in my judgment four 
reasons for it. 

First, Though the consciences of such men are 
awakened, yet their minds are not changed : therefore, 
when the power of guilt weareth away, that which pro- 
voketh them to be religious ceaseth : wherefore they 
naturally return to their old course again ; even as we 
see the dog that is sick of what he hath eaten, so long 
as his sickness prevails he vomits and casts up all •' 
not that he doth this of free mind, (if we may say a 
dog has a mind,) but because it troubleth his stomach : 
but now, when his sickness is over, and so his stomach 
eased, his desires being not at all alienated from his 
vomit, he turns him about, and licks up all : and so it 
is true which is written, " The dog is turned to his 
own vomit again," (2 Pet. ii, 22.) Thus, I say, being 
hot for heaven, by virtue only of the sense and fear 
of the torments of hell, as their sense of hell and fear 
of damnation chills and cools, so their desires for 
heaven and salvation cool also. So then it comes to 
pass, that, when their guilt and fear is gone, their 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 207 

desires for heaven and happiness die, and they return 
to their course again. 

Second, Another reason is, they have slavish fears 
that do over-master them : — I speak now of the fears 
that they have of men : " for the fear of men bringeth 
a snare," (Prov. xxix, 25.) So then, though they seem 
to be hot for heaven so long as the flames of hell are 
about their ears, yet, when that terror is a little over, 
they betake themselves to second thoughts, namely, 
that it is good to be wise, and not to run, (for they 
know not what,) the hazard of losing all, or at least of 
bringing themselves into unavoidable and umiecessary 
troubles ; and so they fall in with the world again. 

Third, The shame that attends religion lies also as a 
block in their way : they are proud aud haughty, and 
religion in their eye is low and contemptible : there- 
fore, when they have lost their sense of hell and 
wrath to come, they return again to their former 
course. 

Fourth, Guilt, and to 'meditate terror, are grievous 
to them ; they like not to see their misery before they 
come into it ; though perhaps the sight of it first, if 
they loved that sight, might make them flee whither 
the righteous flee and are safe ; but because they do, 
as I hinted before, even shun the thoughts of guilt and 
terror, therefore, when once they are rid of their 
awakenings about the terrors and wrath of God, they 
harden their hearts gladly, and choose such ways as 
will harden them more and more. 

Clir. You are pretty near the business, for the bottom 
of all is, for want of a change in their mind and will. 
And therefore they are but like the felon that standeth 
before the judge ; he quakes and trembles, and seems 
to repent most heartily : but the bottom of all is, the 
fear of the halter ; not that he hath any detestation of 
the offences ; as it is evident, because, let but this man 
have his liberty, and he will be a thief, and so a rogue 
still ; whereas, if his mind was changed, he would be 
otherwise. 

Hope. Now I have showed you the reason of their 
going back, do you show me the manner thereof. 
Chr. So I will willingly. They draw off their thoughts, 



208 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

all that they may, from the remembrance of God, death, 
and judgment to come : — then they* cast off by degrees 
private duties and closet-prayer, curbing their lusts, 
watching, sorrow for sin, &c. :— then they shun the 
company of lively and warm Christians :— after that 
they grow cold to public duty ; as hearing, reading, 
godly conference, and the like :— then they begin to 
pick holes, as we say, in the coats of some of the godly, 
and that devilishly, that they may have a seeming 
colour to throw religion, (for the sake of some infirmi- 
ties they have spied in them,) behind their backs : — 
then they begin to adhere to, and associate themselves 
with, carnal, loose, and wanton men : — then they give 
way to carnal and wanton discourses in secret ; and 
glad are they if they can see such things in any that 
are counted honest, that they may the more boldly do 
it through their example. After this they begin to 
play with little sins openly : — and then, being hardened, 
they show themselves as they are. Thus, oeing 
launched again into the gulf of misery, unless a mira- 
cle of grace prevent it, they everlastingly perish in 
their own deceivings. 

Now I saw in my dream that by this time the pil- 
grims were got over the Enchanted Ground, and enter- 
ing into the countryt of Beulah, (Cant, ii, 10 — 12 ; Isa, 
lxii, 4r— 12,) whose air was very sweet and pleasant, 

* " Then"— The hypocrite will not pray always ; nor can he ever pray, 
with faith or sincerity, for spiritual blessings : but he may deprecate misery,, 
and beg to be made happy, and continue to observe a form of private reli- 
gion. But when such men begin to shun the company of lively Christians, 
to neglect public ordinances, and to excuse their conduct by imitating the 
devil, the accuser of the brethren, in calumniating pious persons, magnifying 
their imperfections, insinuating suspicions of diem, and aiming to confound 
all distinction of character among men ; we may safely conclude their state 
to be perilous in the extreme. While professors should be exhorted care- 
fully to look to themselves, and to watch against the first incursions of this 
spiritual declension, it should also be observed, that the lamented infirmities 
and dulness of those who persist in using the means of grace, and striving 
against sin ; who decidedly prefer the company of believers, and deem them 
the excellent of the earth ; and who are severe in judging themselves, but 
candid to others ; are of a contrary nature and tendency to the steps of 
Temporary's apostacy. 

t " Country"— The word Beulah signifies married ; and die prophet, in 
the passage whence it is quoted, predicted a very flourishing state of religion, 
which is yet in futurity : but the author accommodates it to the sweet peace 
and confidence which tried believers commonly experience towards the 
close of dieir lives. This general rule admits indeed of exceptions ; but the 
author, having witnessed many of these encouraging scenes, was willing 
to animate himself and his aJfiicted brethren with the hope of similar U> 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 209 

the way lying directly through it, they solaced them- 
selves there for a season. Yea, here they heard con- 
tinually the singing of birds, and saw every day the 
flowers appear in the earth, and heard the voice of the 
turtle in the land. In this country the sun shineth 
night and day : wherefore this was beyond the valley 
of the Shadow of Death, and also out of the reach of 
giant Despair ; neither could they from this place so 
much as see Doubting Castle. Here they were within 
sight of the city they were going to ; also here met 
them some of the inhabitants thereof ; for in this land 
the shinings ones commonly walked, because it was 
upon the borders of heaven. In this land also the con- 
tract between the bride and the bridegroom was re- 
newed; yea, here, "as the bridegroom rejoiceth over 
the bride, so did their- God rejoice over them." Here 
they had no want of corn and wine ; for in this place 
they met abundance of what they had sought for in all 
their pilgrimage. Here they heard voices from out of 
the city, loud voices, saying, " Say ye to the daughter 
of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh ! Behold, his 
reward is with him !" Here all the inhabitants of the 
country called them " the holy people, the redeemed 
of the Lord, sought out," &c. 

Now, as they walked in this land, they had more re- 
joicing than in parts more remote from the kingdom to 
which they were bound ; and drawing near to the city 
they had yet a more perfect view thereof. It was 
builded of pearls and precious stones, also the streets 

umphant joys. The communion of saints in prayer, praises, and thanks- 
givings, with liberty and ardour, and hearts united in cordial love ; the 
beauties of holiness, and the consolations of the Holy Spirit ; the healing 
beams of the Sun of righteousness, shining by the sweet light of divine 
truth upon the soul ; exemption from darkening temptations and harassing 
doubts ; lively earnests and near prospects of heavenly felicity ; a cheering 
sense of anion of spirit with the heavenly host, in their fervent adorations, 
and a realizing apprehension of their ministering care over the heirs of sal- 
vation ; a comfortable renewal of the acceptances of Christ, sealed with the 
tokens, pledges, and assurances of his love ; gratitude, submission, confi- 
dence in God, hope, and the sweet exercise of tenderness, sympathy, meek- 
ness, and humility, but little interrupted by the working of the contrary 
evils ; these things seem to constitute the happy state here represented. It 
is remarkable, that the Psalms (which were intended, among other uses, to 
regulate the devotions and experiences of believers) abound at first with 
confessions, complaints, fears, and earnest cries of distress ; but towards 
the close become more and more the language of confidence, gratitude, and 
joy, and conclude with unmingled praises and thanksgivings. 



210 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

thereof were paved with gold ; so that, by reason of 
the natural glory of the city, and the reflection of the 
sun-beams upon it, Christian with desire* fell sick^ 
Hopeful also had a fit or two of the same disease ; 
wherefore here they lay by it awhile, crying out because 
of their pangs, " If you see my beloved, tell him that 
I am sick of love." 

But, being a little strengthened, and better able to 
bear their sickness, they walked on then way, and 
came yet nearer and nearer, wiiere were orchards and 
vineyards, and gardens, ana their gates opened into 
the highway. Now, as they came up to these places, 
behold the gardener stood in the way ; to whom the 
pilgrims said, Whose t goodly vineyards and gardens 
are these ? He answered they are the King's, and are 
planted here for his own delight, and also for the solace 
of pilgrims. So the gardener had them into the vine- 
yards, and bid them refresh themselves with the dain- 
ties, (Deut. xxiii. 24;) he also shewed them there the 
King's walks and arbours, where he delighted to be ; 
and here they tarried and slept. 

Now I beheld in my dream, that they talked more in 
their sleep at this time than ever they did in all their 
journey ; and, being in a muse thereabout, the gardener 
said even to me, " Wherefore musest thou at the mat- 
ter? it is the nature of the fruit of the grapes of these 
vineyards " to go down so sweetly as to cause the lips 
of them that are asleep to speak." 

So I saw that when they awoke they addressed 
themselves to go up to the city. For as I said, the re- 



* " Desire" — In the immediate view of heavenly felicity, Paul " desired 
to depart hence and be with Christ, as far tetter" than life; and David 
" fainted for God's salvation. " In the lively exercise of holy affections, the 
believer grows weary of this sinful world, longs to have his faith changed 
for sight, his hope swallowed up in enjoyment, and his love perfected, and 
secured from all interruption and abatement. Were this trame of mind 
habitual, it might unfit men for the common concerns of life, which appear 
very trifling to the soul when employed in delightful admiring contempla- 
tion of heavenly glory. 

t " W r hose"— Attendance on the public ordinances is always the believer'a 
duty and privilege ; yet he cannot at all times delight in them: but when 
holy affections are in lively exercise, he sweetly rests in these earnests of 
heavenly joy ; and speaks freely and fervently of the love of Christ and 
the blessings of salvation, to the edification of those around him ; who 
often wonder at witnessing such a change, from reserve and diffidence to 
boldness and earnestness in urging others to mind the one thing needful. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 211 

flection of the sun upon the city, (for the city was pure 
gold, (Rev. xxi, 18 ; 2 Cor. iii, 18,) was so extremely glo- 
rious, that they could not as yet with open face behold 
it, but through an instrument made for that purpose. 
So I saw, that as they went on there met them two men 
in raiment that shone like gold, also their faces shone 
as the light. 

These* men asked the pilgrims whence they came 1 
and they told them. They also asked them where 
they had lodged, what difficulties and dangers, what 
comforts and pleasures, they had met with in the way ? 
and they told them. Then said the men that met 
them, You have but two difficulties more to meet 
with, and then you are in the city. 

Christian then and his companion asked the men to 
go along with them ; so they told them they would. 
But, said they, you must obtain it by your own faith. 
So I saw in my dream that they went on together till 
they came in sight of the gate. 

Nowt I farther saw, that betwixt them and the gate 
was a river ; but there was no bridge to go over ; the 

* " These" — Perhaps the author here alluded to those pre-intimations of 
death that some persons seem to receive ; and he appears to have referred 
them to the common opinion of guardian angels watching over every indi- 
vidual believer. Death and admission into the city were the only difficulties 
that awaited the pilgrims. 

| " Now"— Death is aptly represented by a deep river without a bridge, 
separating the believer from his heavenly inheritance ; as the Jordan flowed 
between Israel and the promised land. From this river nature shrinks 
back, even when faith, hope, and love are in lively exercise ; but when these 
decline, alarm and consternation may unite with reluctance. The dreaded 
pangs that precede the awful separation of those intimate associates, die 
eoul and body ; die painful parting with dear friends and every earthly 
object; the gloomy ideas of the dark, cold, and noisome grave ; and the 
solemn thought of launching into an unseen eternity, render Death the king 
of terrors. Faith in a crucified, buried, risen, and ascended Saviour ; expe- 
rience of his faidifulness and love in times past ; hope of an immediate 
entrance into his presence, where temptation, conflict, sin, and suffering, 
will find no admission ; and die desire of perfect knowledge, holiness, and 
felicity, will reconcile the mind to the inevitable stroke, and sometimes give 
a complete victory over every fear : yet if faith and hope be weakened, 
through die recollection of any peculiar misconduct, die withholding of 
divine light and consolation, or some violent assault of the tempter, the 
believer will be peculiarly liable to alarm and distress. His reflecting mind, 
having long been accustomed to consider the subject in its important nature 
and consequences, has very different apprehensions of God, of eternity, of 
Judgment, of sin, and of himself, than other men have. Sometimes expe- 
rienced saints are more desponding in these circumstances uian their junior 
brethren ; constitution has considerable effect upon the mind ; and some 
men (like Christian) are, in every stage of their profession, more exposed 
to temptations of a discouraging nature, than to ambition, avarice, or fleshly 



212 

river was very deep. At the sight therefore of this river, 
the pilgrims were much stunned; but the men that 
went with them, said, You must go through, or you 
cannot come at the gate. 

The pilgrims began to inquire if there was no other 
way to the gate ? to which they answered, Yes ; but there 
hath not any, save two, to wit, Enoch and Elijah, been 
permitted to tread that path since the foundation of the 
world, nor shall until the last trumpet shall sound. 
The pilgrims then, (especially Christian,) began to 
despond in their minds, and looked this way and that, 
but no way could be found by them, by which they 
might escape the river. Then they asked the men if 
the waters were all of a depth ? they said, no ; yet 
they could not help them in that case ; For, said they, 
you shall find it deeper or shallower, as you believe in 
the king of the place. 

They then addressed themselves to the water, and, 
entering, Christian began to sink, and crying out to Ms 
good friend Hopeful, he said, " I sink in deep waters ; 
the billows go over my head, all his waves go over me. 
Selah." 

Then said the other, Be of good cheer, my brother ; 
I feel the bottom and it is good. Then said Christian, 
Ah ! my friend, the sorrow of death hath compassed me 
about, I shall not see the land that flows with milk and 
honey. And with that a great darkness and horror 
fell upon Christian, so that he could not see before 
him. Also he* in a great measure lost his senses, so 

lasts. It has before been suggested, that the author probably meant to 
describe the peculiarities of his own experience, in the character of Chris- 
tian; and he may perhaps here have intimated his apprehension lest he 
should not meet death with becoming fonitude. A conscientious life indeed 
is commonly favoured with a peaceful close, even when forebodings to the 
contrary have troubled men during their whole lives : this is so far general, 
that they best provide for a comfortable death, who most diligently attend 
to the dudes of their station and the improvement of their talents, from 
evangelical principles; whereas they who live negligendy, and yield to 
temptation, make, as it were, an assignation with terror to meet them on 
their death-bed, a season when comfort is more desirable than at any other. 
The Lord, however, is no man's debtor ; none can claim consolation as 
their due ; and, though a believer's experience and the testimony of his 
conscience may evidence the sincerity of his faith and love, yet he must 
disclaim to the last every other dependance dianthe righteousness and blood 
of Christ, and the free mercy of God in him. 

*" Also he" — The temporary distresses of dying believers often arise from 
bodily disease, which interrupt the free exercise of their intellectual powers. 






WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 213 

that he could neither remember nor orderly talk of any 
of those sweet refreshments, that he had met with in 
the way of his pilgrimage. But all the words that he 
spake still tended to discover that he had horror of 
mind, and heart fears that he should die in that river, 
and never obtain entrance in at the gate. Here also, 
as they that stood by perceived, he was much in the 
troublesome thoughts of the sins that he had commit- 
ted, both since and before he began to be a pilgrim. It 
was also observed, that he was troubled with appa- 
ritions of hobgoblins and evil spirits ; for ever and anon 
he would intimate so much by words. Hopeful there- 
fore here had much ado to keep his brother's head 
above water ; yea, sometimes he would be quite gone 
down, and then, ere a while, would rise up again half 
dead. Hopeful did also endeavour to comfort him, 
saying, Brother, 1 see the gate, and men standing by 
to receive us ; but Christian would answer, It is you, 
it is you they wait for ; you have been Hopeful ever 
since I knew you. And so have you, said he to Chris- 
tian. Ah, brother, said he, surely if I was right, he 
would now rise to help me ; but for my sins he hath 
brought me into the snare, and hath left me. Then 
said Hopeful, My brother, you have quite forgot the 
text where it is said of the wicked, " There are no bands 
in their death, but their strength is firm ; they are not 
troubled as other men, neither are they plagued like 
other men." These troubles and distresses that you 
go through in these waters are no sign that God hath 
forsaken you ; but are sent to try you, whether you 
will call to mind that which heretofore you have re- 
ceived of his goodness, and live upon him in your dis- 
tresses. 

Then I saw in my dream that Christian was in a 
muse awhile. To whom also Hopeful added these 
words, " Be of good cheer, Jesus Christ maketh thee 

Of this Satan will be sure to take advantage, as far as he is permitted ; and 
will suggest gloomy imaginations, not only to distress them, but to dis- 
hearten others by their example. What may in this state be painted before 
the fancy we cannot tell ; but it is generally observed, that such painful 
conflicts terminate in renewed hope aud comfort, frequently by means 
of the conversation and prayers of Christians and ministers ; so that they, 
who for a time have been most distressed, have at length died most tri- 
umphantly. 



214 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

whole." And with that Christian brake out with a 
loud voice, Oh, I see him again! and he tells me, 
" When thou passest through the waters, I will be 
with thee ; and through the rivers, they shall not over- 
flow thee," (Isa. xliii, 2.) Then they both took courage, 
and the enemy was after that as still as a stone, until 
they were gone over. Christian therefore presently 
found ground to stand upon, and so it followed, that 
the rest of the river was but shallow ; but thus they 
got over. Now upon the bank of the river, on the other 
side, they saw the two* shining men again, who there 
waited for them. Wherefore, being come out of the 
river, they saluted them, saying, " We are ministering 
spirits sent forth to minister for those that shall be 
heirs of salvation." Thus they went along towards 
the gate. Now you must note that the city stood upon 
a mighty hill ; but the pilgrims went up the hill with 
ease, because they had these two men to lead them up 
by the arms : also they had left their mortal garments 
behind them in the river; for though they went in 
with them, they came out without them. They there- 
fore went up here with much agility and speed, though 
the foundation upon which the city was framed was 
higher than the clouds ; they therefore went up through 
the region of the air, sweetly talking as they went, be- 
ing comforted, because they safely got over the river, 
and had such glorious companions to attend them. 

The talk that they had with the shining ones was 
about the glory of the place ; who told them, that the 
oeauty and glory of it was inexpressible. There, said 
they, is "Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, the 
innumerable company of angels, and the spirits of 
just men made perfect," (Heb. xii, 22—24.) You are 
going now, said they, to the Paradise of God, wherein 
you shall see the tree of life, and eat of the never-- 
fading fruits thereof; and when you come there you 

* "The two"— When "Lazarus died, he was carried by angels into 
Abraham's bosom ;" and we have every reason to believe, that the ser- 
vices of these friendly spirits to the souls of departed saints are immediate 
and sensible ; and that their joy is such as is here described. The beau- 
tiful description that follows admits of no elucidation; some of the 
images indeed ars taken from modern customs ; but in all other respecta 
it isentirely scriptural, and very intelligible and animating to the spiritual 
mind. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 215 

shall have white robes given you, and your walk and 
talk shall be every day with the King, even all the 
days of eternity, (Rev. ii, 7; iii, 4; xxii, 5.) There you 
shall not see again such things as you saw when you 
were in the lower region upon the earth, to wit, sorrow, 
sickness, affliction, and death, " for the former things 
are passed away," (Isa. lxv, 16.) You are going now 
to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and to the prophets, 
men that God hath taken away from the evil to come, 
and that are now " resting upon their beds, each one 
walking in his righteousness." The men then asked, 
What must we do in the holy place ? To whom it was 
answered, You must there receive the comforts of all 
your toil, and have joy for all your sorrow ; you must 
reap what you have sown, even the fruit of all your 
prayers, and tears, and sufferings for the King by the 
way, (Gal. vi, 7, 8.) In that place you must wear 
crowns of gold, and enjoy the perpetual sight and vision 
of the Holy One, for " there you shall see him as he 
is," (1 John iii, 2.) There also you shall serve him 
continually with praise, with shouting, and thanks- 
giving, whom you desired to serve in the world, though 
with much difficulty, because of the infirmity of your 
flesh. There your eyes shall be delighted with seeing 
and your ears with hearing the pleasant voice of the 
Mighty One. There you shall enjoy your friends again, 
that are gone thither before you ; and there you shall 
with joy receive even every one that follows into the 
holy places after you. There also you shall be clothed 
with glory and majesty, and put into an equipage fit 
to ride out with the King of Glory. When he shall 
come with sound of trumpet in the clouds, as upon the 
wings of the wind, you shall come with him; and 
when he shall sit upon the throne of judgment, you 
shall sit by him ; yea, and when he shall pass sentence 
upon all the workers of iniquity, let them be angels or 
men, you also shall have a voice in that judgment, be- 
cause they were his and your enemies. Also when he 
I shall again return to the city, you shall go too with 
sound of trumpet, and be ever with him, (1 Thess. iv, 
13— 17 j Jude 14, 15; Dan. vii, 9, 10; 1 Cor. vi, 2, 3.) 
Now, while they were thus drawing towards the 



216 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

gate, behold a company of the heavenly host came out 
to meet them; to whom it was said by the other two 
shining ones, These are the men that hare loved our 
Lord when they were in the world, and that have left 
all for his holy name, and he hath sent us to fetch 
them ; and we have brought them thus far on their de- 
sired journey, that they may go in and look then Re- 
deemer in the face with joy. Then the heavenly host 
gave a great shout, saying, " Blessed are they that 
are called to the marriage-supper of the Lamb," 
(Rev. xix, 9.) There came out also at this time to 
meet them several of the King's trumpeters, clothed 
in white and shining raiment, who with melodious 
noises and loud made even the heavens to echo with 
their sound. These trumpeters saluted Christian and 
his fellow with ten thousand welcomes from the 
world ; and tins they did with shouting and sound of 
trumpet. 

This done, the}* compassed them round on every 
side ; some went before, some behind, and some on 
the right hand, some on the left, (as it were to guard 
them through the upper region,) continually sounding 
as they went with melodious noise, in notes on high ; 
so that the very sight was, to them that could behold 
it, as if heaven itself was come down to meet them. 
Thus therefore they walked on together ; and as they 
walked, ever and anon these trumpeters, even with joy- 
ful sound, would, by mixing their music with looks and 
gestures, still signify to Christian and his brother how 
welcome they were into their company, and with what 
gladness they came to meet them. And now were 
these two men, as it were, in heaven, before they 
came at it, being swallowed up with the sight of 
angels, and with hearing their melodious notes. Here 
also they had the city itself in view ; and they thought 
they heard all the bells therein to ring, to welcome 
them thereto But above all, the warm and joyful 
thoughts that they had about their own dwelling there 
with such company, and that for ever and ever, oh ! by 
what tongue or pen can their glorious joy be expressed ' 
Thus they came up to the gate. 

Now, when they were come up to the gate, there 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 217 

was written over it in letters of gold, " Blessed* are 
they that do his commandments, that they may have 
right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the 
gates into the city, (Rev. xxii, 14.) 

Then I saw in my dream that the shining men bid 
them call at the gate ; the which when they did, some 
from above looked over the gate, to wit, Enoch, Moses, 
and Elias, &c. to whom it was said, These pilgrims are 
come from the city of Destruction, for the love that 
they bear to the King of this place; and then the pil- 
grims gave in unto them each man his certificate, 
which they had received in the beginning ; these there- 
fore were carried in unto the King, who, when he had 
read them, said, Where are the men ? to whom it was 
answered, They are standing without the gate. The 
King then commanded to open the gate, " that the 
righteous nation," said he, "that keepeth truth may 
enter in," (Isa. xxvi, 2.) 

Now I saw in my dream that these two men went in 
at the gate ; and, lo ! as they entered they were trans- 
figured ; and they had raiment put on that shone like 
gold. There were also that met them with harps and 
crowns, and gave them to them; the harps to praise 
withal, and the crowns in token of honour. Then I 
heard in my dream that all the bells in the city rang 
again for joy, and that it was said unto them, " Enter 
ye into the joy of your Lord." I also heard the men 
themselves, that they sang with a loud voice, saying, 
" Blessing, honour, and glory, and power, be to him 
that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb for ever 
and ever," (Rev. v, 13, 14.) 

Now, just as the gates were opened to let in the< 
men, I looked in after them, and behold the city shone 
like the sun ; the streets also were paved with gold ; 
and in them walked many men with crowns on their 

• " Blessed" — The commandments of God, as given to sinners under a 
dispensation of mercy, call diem to repentance, faith in Christ, and the 
obedience of faith and love ; the believer habitually practises according to 
these commandments, from the time of his receiving Christ for salvation ; 
this evidences his interest in all the blessings of the new covenant, and 
proves that he has a right through grace to the heavenly inheritance. May 
the writer of these remarks, and every reader, have such " an abundant 
entrance" as is here described " into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord 
and Saviour Jesus Christ!" 

G 10 



Sfg THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

lieads, palms in their hands, and golden harps to sm^ 
praises withal. 

There were also of them that had wings, and thejr 
answered one another without intermission, saying, 
* Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord." And after that they 
shut up the gates : which when I had seen, I wished 
myself among them. 

Now, while I was gazing upon all these tilings, I 
turned my head to look back, and saw- Ignorance come 
"up to the river side ; but he soon got over, and that 
without half that difficulty winch the other two men 
met with. For it happened that there was then in that 
place one Vain-hope, a ferryman, that with his boat 
helped him over : so he, as the other I saw, did ascend 
the hill to come up to the gate ; only he came alone ; 
neither did any man meet him with the least encou- 
ragement. When he was come up to the gate, he 
looked up to the writing that was above, and then be- 
gan to knock, supposing that entrance should have 
been quickly administered to him : but he was asked 
by the man that looked over the top of the gate, 
Whence come you? And what would you have ■? He 
answered, " I have eat and drank in the presence of 
the King, and he has taught in our streets." Then 
they asked him for his certificate, that they might go 
in and show it to the king : so he fumbled in his bosom 



* " And saw"— We frequently hear of persons that have lived strangers 
to evangelical religion, and the power of godliness, dying with great com- 
posure and resignation ; and such instances are brought forward as an 
objection to the necessity of faith, or of a devoted life. But what do they 
prove? What evidence is diere, that such men are savjd? Is it not far 
more likely that they continued to the end under the power of ignorance 
and self-conceit ; that Satan took care not to disturb them ; and lhat God 
gave them over to a strong delusion, and left them to perish with a lie in 
tneir r;?ht hand ? Men. who have neglected religion all their lives, or have 
habitually for a length of years disgraced an evangelical profession, being 
when near death visited by pious persons, sometimes obtain a sadden and 
extraordinary measure of peace and joy, and die in this frame. This should 
in general beconsidered as a bad sign: for deep humiliation, yea, distress v 
United with some trembling hope in God's mercy through the Gospel, is far 
more suited to their case, and more likely to be die effect of spiritual illumi-- 
nation. But when a formal visit from a minister of any sect, a few gene- 
ral questions, and a prayer, with or without the sacrament, calm the 
mind of a dying person, whose life has been unsuitable to the Christian 
profession: no doubt, could we penetrate the veil, we should see him, 
wafted across tke river in the boat of Vain-hope, and meeting with the- 
awful doom that is here described. . EromauchdelusionsgoodLordtleliverr 
a&. Amen. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 2T9 1 

for one, and found none. Then said they, You have 
none ; but the man answered never a word. So they 
told the King-, but he would not come down to see him, 
but commanded the two shining ones, that conducted 
Christian and Hopeful to the city, to go out and take 
Ignorance, and bind him hand and foot, and have him 
away. Then they took him up, and carried him 
through the air to the door that I saw in the side of 
the hill, and put him in there. Then I saw that there 
was a way to hell, even from the gates of heaven, as 
well as from the city of Destruction. So I awoke, and 
beheld it was a dream. 



THE 

PILGRIM'S PROGRESS 
PART II. 



THE 

PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 



PART II. 

Courteous* Companions, 

Some time since, to tell you a dream that I had of 
Christian, the pilgrim, and of his dangerous journey 
towards the celestial country, was pleasant to me and 
profitable to you. I told you then also, what I saw 
concerning his wife and children, and how unwilling" 
they were to go with him on pilgrimage : insomuch that 
he was forced to go on his progress without them, for 
he durst not run the danger of that destruction, which, 
he feared would come by staying with them in the city 
of Destruction; wherefore, as I then showed you, he 
left them and departed. 

Now it hath so happened, through the multiplicity 
of business, that I have been much hindered and kept 
oack from my wonted travels into those parts where he 
went, and so could not, till now, obtain an opportunity 
to make farther inquiry after whom he left behind, 
that I might give you an account of them. But having 1 

* " Courteous" — It has been before observed, that the " first part of the 
Pilgrim's Progress" is in all respects the most complete ; yet there are many 
things in the second, well worthy of the pious reader's attention ; nor can 
there be any doubt, but it was penned by the same author. It is not, how- 
ever, necessary that the annotator should be so copious; upon it as upon the 
more interesting instructions of the preceding part. Jn some places, it is 
not easy to discover the precise meaning of the allegory ; in others, it does 
not seem sufficiently important to demand so large a measure of attention 
as would be required to the explanation of every minute circumstance: 
and, in general, the leading incidents may be considered as the author's 
-own exposition of his meaning in the former part, or as his delineation of 
6ome varieties, that occur in events of a similar nature. In tilings of this 
■kind, brevity must here be ebserved.: but some particulars will demand a 
-more copious elucidation. 



224 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

had some concerns that way of late, I went down 
again thitherward. Now having taken up my lodging 
in a wood, about a mile off the place, as I slept I 
dreamed again. 

And, as I was in my dream, behold, an aged gentle- 
man came by where I lay ; and because he was to go 
some part of the way that I was travelling, methought 
I got up and went with him. So, as we walked, and as 
travellers usually do, I was as if we fell into a discourse, 
and our talk happened to be about Christian and his 
travels, for thus I began with the old man : 

Sir, said 1, what town is that there below, that lieth 
on the left hand of our way ? 

Then said Mr. Sagacity, (for that was his name,) It 
is the city of Destruction, a populous place, but pos- 
sessed with a very ill-conditioned and idle sort of 
people. 

I thought that was that city, quoth I ; I went once 
myself through that town ; and therefore I know that 
this report you give of it is true. 

Sag. Too true ! I wish I could speak truth in speak- 
ing better of them that dwell therein. 

Well, Sir, quoth I, then I perceive you to be a well- 
meaning man, and so one that takes pleasure to hear 
and tell of that which is good : pray did you never hear 
what happened to a man some time ago in this town, 
(whose name was Christian,) that went on a pilgrimage 
up towards the higher regions ? 

Sag. Hear of him ! Ay, and I also heard of the mo- 
lestations, troubles, wars, captivities, cries, groans, 
frights, and fears, that he met with, and had on his 
journey. Besides, I must tell you, all our country rings 
of him; there are but few houses, that have heard of 
him and his doings, but have sought after and got the 
records of his pilgrimage : yea, I think I may say, that 
this hazardous journey has got many well-wishers to 
his ways ; for though, when he was here, he was fool 
in every man's mouth, yet now he is gone he is highly 
commended of all. For it is said he lives bravely 
where he is : yea, many of them are resolved never to 
run his hazards, yet have their mouths water at his 
gains. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 225 

They may, quoth I, well think, if they think any 
thing that is true, that he liveth well where he is ; for 
he now lives at and in the Fountain of Life, and has 
what he has without labour and sorrow, for there is 
no grief mixed therewith. But pray, what talk have 
the people about him'? 

Sag. Talk! the people talk strangely about him: 
some say, that he now walks in white, (Rev. iii, 4 : vi, 
11 ;) and that he has a chain of gold about his neck ; 
that he has a crown of gold, beset with pearls, upon his 
head : others say, that the shining ones, that sometimes 
showed themselves to him in his journey, are become 
his companions, and that he is as familiar with them in 
the place where he is, as here one neighbour is with 
another, (Zech. iii, 7.) Besides, it is confidently affirm- 
ed concerning him, that the King of the place where 
he is, has bestowed upon him already a very rich and 
pleasant dwelling at court, and that he every day eateth, 
and drinketh, and walketh, and talketh with him, and 
receiveth the smiles and favours of him that is judge 
of all there. Moreover,* it is expected of some, that 
his prince, the lord of that country, will shortly come 
into these parts, and will know the reason, if they can 
give any, why his neighbours set so little by him, and 
had him so much in derision, when they perceived that 
he would be a pilgrim, (Jude 14, 15.) 

For they say, that now he is so in the affections of 
his prince, and that his sovereign is so much concerned 
with the indignities that were cast upon Christian 



* " Moreover"— Christians are the representatives on earth of the Saviour 
and Judge of the world; and the usage they meet with, whether good or 
bad, commonly originates in men's love to him, or contemptuous enmity 
against him. The decisions of the great day therefore will be marie with an 
especial reference to this evidence of men's faith or unbelief : faith works 
by love of Christ, and of his people for his sake, which influences men to 
eelf-denying kindness towards the needy and distressed of the flock. Where 
these fruits are totally wanting, it is evident there is no love cf Christ, and 
consequently no faith in him, or salvation by him. And as true believers 
are the excellent of the earth, no man can have any good reason for despising, 
hating, and injuring them ; so that this usage will be adduced as a proof of 
positive enmity to Christ, and expose the condemned sinner to more aggra- 
vated misery. Indeed, it often appears after the death of consistent Chris- 
tians, that the consciences of their most scornful opposers secretly favoured 
them : it must dien surely be deemed the wisest conduct by every reflecting 
person, to ''let these men alone, lest haply he should be found to fight 
against God." 

G2 



226 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

when he became a pilgrim, that he will look upon all 
as if done to himself: and no marvel, for it was for the 
love that he had to his prince, that he ventured as he 
did, (Luke x, 16.) 

I dare say, quoth I ; I am glad of it ; I am glad for 
the poor man's sake, for that now he has rest from his 
labour, (Rev. xiv. 13,) and for that he now reaps the 
benefits of his tears with joy, (Ps. cxxvi. 5, 6;) and for 
that he has got beyond the gun-shot of his enemies, 
and is out of the reach of them that hate him. I also 
am glad, for that a rumour of these things is noised 
-abroad in tins country; who can tell but that it may 
work some good effect on some that are left behind ? 
But pray. Sir, while it is fresh in my mind, do you hear 
any thing of his wife and children ? Poor hearts, I 
wonder in my mind what they do. 

Sag. Who ? Christiana and her sons ? They are like 
to do as well as did Christian himself; for, though 
they all played the fool at first, and would by no means 
be persuaded by either the tears or entreaties of Chris- 
tian, yet second thoughts have wrought wonderfully 
with them ; so they have packed up, and are also gone 
after him. 

Better and better, quoth I: but, what!* wife and 
children and all ? 

Sag. It is true : I can give you an account of the 
matter, for I was upon the spot at the instant, and was 
thoroughly acquainted with the whole affair. 

Then, said I, may a man report it for a truth? 

Sag. You need not fear to affirm it : I mean that 
they are all gone on pilgrimage, both the good woman 

* " Bat what I"— If the allegory should here be thought to deviate from 
the exact rule of propriety ; it may be said, that the author was intent on 
encouraging pious persons to persevere iu using all means for the spiritual 
good ol ?.hen they see no eflect produced by tliem. The 

Scripture teaches us to expect a blessing on such endeavours : the dying 
. . ny aud counsels of exemplary believers frequently make a deeper 
b a all '.heir previous instructions : the death of near relations, 
who have behaved well to such as despised them, proves a heavier lo^; 
wl£ expected : the n collection of unkhiu behaviour to such valuable friends, 
ana cf the pains taken to harden the heart against their affectionate admo- 
nitions, sometimes lies heavy on the conscience ; thus the prayers of the 
believer for his children or other relatives are frequently answered after his 
death, and when some of them begin to inquire "what they must do to 
* ; they will become zealous instruments in seeking the conversion 
of those whom before they endeavoured to prejudice against the ways 
of God. 






WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 227 

and her four boys. And being we are, as I perceive, 
going some considerable way together, I will give you 
an account of the whole matter. 

This Christiana, (for that was her name from the 
day that she with her children betook themselves to a 
pilgrim's life,) after her husband was gone over the 
river, (Part i, p. 212 — 214,) and she could hear of him no 
more, her thoughts began to work in her mind. First, 
for that she had lost her husband, and for that the 
loving bond of that relation was utterly broken betwixt 
them. For you know, said he to me, nature can do no 
less but entertain the living with many a heavy cogi- 
tation, in the remembrance of the loss of loving rela- 
tions. This, therefore, of her husband, did cost her 
many a tear. But this was not all, for Christiana did 
also begin to consider with herself, whether her unbe- 
coming behaviour towards her husband was not one 
cause that she saw him no more ; and that in such sort 
he was taken away from her. And upon this came 
into her mind, by swarms, all her unkind, unnatural, 
and ungodly carriage to her dear friend, which also 
clogged her conscience, and did load her with guilt. 
She was, moreover, much broken with calling to re- 
membrance the restless groans, the brinish tears, and 
self-bemoaning of her husband, and how she did harden 
her heart against all his entreaties, and loving per- 
suasions, of her and her sons to go with him ; yea, 
there was not any thing that Christian either said to 
her, or did before her, all the while that his burthen did 
hang on his back, but it returned upon her like a flash 
of lightning, and rent the caul of her heart in sunder ; 
especially that bitter outcry of his, " What shall I do 
to be saved V* did ring in her ears most dolefully, (Part 
i. p. 22—24.) 

Then said she to her children, Sons, we are all un- 
done. I have sinned away your father, and he is gone ; 
he would have had us with him, but I would not go 
myself: I also have hindered you of life. With that 
the boys fell into tears, and cried to go after their 
father. Oh ! said Christiana, that it had been but our 
lots to go with him ; then it had fared well with us> 
beyond what it is like to do now. 



228 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

formerly foolishly imagined concerning the troubles of 
your father, that they proceeded of a foolish fancy that 
he had, or for that he was overrun with melancholy 
humours ; yet now it will not out of mind, but that 
they sprang from another cause, to wit, for that the 
light of life was given him, (John viii, 12 ;) by the help 
of which, as I perceive, he has escaped the snares of 
death. Then they wept all again, and cried out, Oh, 
woe worth the day ! 

The next night Christiana had a dream ;* and be- 
hold, she saw as if a broad parchment was opened 
before her, in which were recorded the sum of her 
ways, and the crimes, as she thought, looked very 
black upon her. Then she cried out aloud in her sleep, 
"Lord have mercy upon me a sinner, (Luke xviii, 13 :) 
and the little children heard her. 

After this, she thought she saw two very ill-favoured 
ones standing by her bed-side, and sa)ang, What shall 
we do with this woman? for she cries out for mercy 
waking and sleeping : if she be suffered to go on as 
she begins, we shall lose her as we have lost her hus- 
band. Wherefore we must, by some way, seek to take 
her off from the thoughts of what shall be hereafter, 
else all the world cannot help but she will become a 
pilgrim. 

Now she awoke in a great sweat; also a trembling 
was upon her: but after awhile she fell to sleeping 
again. And then she thought she saw Christian, her 
husband, in a place of bliss among many immortals, 
with a harp in his hand, standing and playing upon it 
before one that sat on a throne, with a rainbow about 



* " Dream" — The mind daring sleep, is often occupied about those sub- 
jects that have most deeply engaged the waking thoughts : and it sometimes 
pleases God to make use of ideas, thus suggested, to influence the conduct, 
by exciting fears or hopes. Provided an intimation be scriptural, and the 
effect salutary, we need not hesitate to consider it as a divine monition, 
however it was brought to the mind : but, if men attempt to draw conclu- 
sions in respect of their acceptance or duty, to determine the truth of certain 
doctrines, to prophesy, or to discover hidden tilings by dreams or visions 
of any kind ; iliey then become a very dangerous and disgraceful species 
of enthusiasm. Whatever means are employed, conviction of sin, and a 
disposition earnestly to cry for mercy, are the work of the Holy Spirit in 
the heart : and, on the other hand, the powers of darkness will surely use 
every effort and su-atagem to take off inquirers from thus earnestly seeking 
the salvation of God. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 229 

his head. She saw also, as if he bowed his head with 
his face towards the paved work that was under his 
Prince's feet, saying, I heartily thank, my Lord and 
King for bringing me into this place. Then shouted a 
company of them that stood round about and harped 
with their harps ; but no man living could tell what 
they said, but Christian and his companions. 

Next morning, when she was up, had prayed to God, 
and talked with her children awhile, one knocked 
nard at the door ; to whom she spake out, saying, If 
thou comest in God's name, come in. So he said 
Amen; and opened the door, and saluted her with 
Peace on this house. The which, when he had done, 
he said, Christiana, knowest thou wherefore I am 
come ? Then she blushed and trembled ; also her 
heart began to wax warm with desires to know from 
whence he came, and what his errand was to her. So 
he said unto her, My name* is Secret ; I dwell with 
those that are high. It is talked of, where I dwell, as 
if thou hadst a desire to go thither ; also, there is a re- 
port, that thou are aware of the evil thou hast formerly 
done to thy husband, in hardening of thy h£art against 
his way, and in keeping of these babes in their igno- 
rance. Christiana, the Merciful One has sent me to 
tell thee, that he is a God ready to forgive, and that he 
taketh delight to multiply the pardon of offences. He 
also would have thee to know, that he inviteth thee to 
come into his presence, to Ids table, and that he will 

* " My name" — " The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him." 
The silent influences of the Holy Spirit bring the encouragement of Scrip- 
ture to the convinced sinner's remembrance, who thus learns that the way 
of salvation is yet open to him. The general invitations of the Gospel may 
be considered as a message sent to the. broken-hearted penitent, more fra- 
grant and refreshing than the most costly ointment, and more precious than 
the gold of Ophir. It is observable, that Secret does not inform Christiana 
that her sins were forgiven, or that Christ and the promises belonged to her; 
but merely that she was invited to come, and that, coming in the appointed 
way, she would be accepted, notwithstanding her pertinacious unbelief in 
the preceding part of her life. Thus, whhout seeming to have intended it, 
the author hath stated the scriptural medium between the extremes, which 
have been contended for, with great eagerness and immense mischief, in 
modern days; while some maintain, that sinners should not be invited to 
come to Christ, or commanded to repent and believe the Gospel ; and others 
that they should be urged to believe at once, with full assurance, that aU the 
blessings of salvation belong to them, previous to repentance, or works meet 
for repentance. For the intimations of Secret represent the teaching of the 
Holy Spirit, by which the sinner understands the real meaning of the sacred 
Scriptures. 

G3 



230 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

feed thee with the fat of his house, and with the 
heritage of Jacob thy father. 

There is Christian, thy husband that was, with le- 
gions more, his companions, ever beholding- that face 
that doth minister life to the beholders ; and they will 
all be glad, when they shall hear the sound of thy feet 
step over thy father's threshold. 

Christiana at this was greatly abashed in herself, and 
bowed her head to the ground. This vision proceeded, 
and said, Christiana, here is also a letter for thee, 
which I have brought from thy husband's King ; so she 
took it and opened it, but it smelt after the maimer of 
the best perfume, (Song i, 3.) Also it was written in 
letters of gold. The contents of the letter were 
these : that the King would have her do as did Chris- 
tian her husband ; for that was the only way to come 
to his city, and to dwell in his presence with jdy for 
ever. At this the good woman was quite overcome : 
so she cried out to her visitor, Sir, will you carry me 
and my children with you, that we may also go and 
worship the King 1 

Then said the visitor, Christiana, the bitter is before 
the sweet. Thou must through troubles, as he did 
that went before thee, enter this Celestial City. 
Wherefore I advise thee to do as did Christian, thy 
husband : go to the wicket-gate yonder, over the plain, 
for that stands in the head of the way up which thou 
must go, and I wish thee all good speed. Also, I advise 
thee, that thou put this letter in thy bosom ; that thou 
read therein to thyself, and to thy children, until they 
have got it by heart ; for it is one of the songs that thou 
must sing while thou art in this house of thy pilgrim- 
age, (Ps. cxix, 54 :) also this thou must deliver in at 
the far gate. 

Now I saw in my dream, that this old gentleman, as 
he told me this story, did himself seem to be greatly 
aifected therewith. He moreover proceeded, and said, 
So Christiana called her sons together, and began thus 
to address herself unto them : My sons, I have, as you 
may perceive, been of late under much exercise in my 
soul about the death of your father ; not for that I 
doubt at all of his happiness, for I am satisfied now 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 231 

that he is well. I have been also much affected with 
the thoughts of mine own estate and yours, which I 
verily believe by nature is miserable. My carriage 
also to your father in his distress is a great load to 
my conscience ; for I hardened both my heart and 
yours against him, and refused to go with him on pil- 
grimage. 

The thoughts of these things would now kill me 
outright, but for that a dream which I had last night, 
and but for that the encouragement this stranger has 
given me this morning. Come, my children, let us 
pack up, and be gone to the gate that leads us to that 
Celestial country, that we may see your father, and be 
with him and his companions in peace, according to 
the laws of that land. 

Then did her children burst out into tears, for joy 
that the heart of their mother was so inclined. So 
the visitor bid them farewell ; and they began to pre- 
pare to set out for their journey. 

But while they were thus about to be gone, two of 
the women that were Christiana's neighbours came up 
to her house, and knocked at her door. To whom she 
said as before. At this the women were stunned ; for 
this kind of language they used not to hear, or to per- 
ceive to drop from the lips of Christiana. Yet they 
came in : but behold, they found the good woman a 
preparing to be gone from her house. 

So they began and said, Neighbour, pray what is 
your meaning by this? 

Christiana answered and said to the eldest of them, 
whose name was Mrs. Timorous, I am preparing for a 
journey, (this Timorous was daughter to him that met 
Christian upon the hill of Difficulty, and would have 
had him gone back for fear of the lions, (Part i, 67.) 

Tim. For what journey, I pray you ? 

Chr. Even to go after my old husband. And with 
that she fell a weeping. 

Tim. I hope not so, good neighbour ; pray, for your 
poor children's sake, do not so unwomanly cast away 
yourself. 

Chr. Nay, my children shall go with me, not one of 
them is willing to stay behind. 



232 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Tim. ■ I wonder in my heart, what, or who has brought 
you into this "mind ! 

Chr. Oh, neighbour, knew you but as much as I do, I 
doubt not but that you would go along with me. 

Tim. Pr'ythee, what new knowledge hast thou got, 
that so worketh off thy mind from thy friends, and that 
tempteth thee to go nobody knows where 1 

Then Christiana replied, I have been sorely afflicted 
siuce my husband's departure from me ; but especially 
since he went over the river. But that which troubleth 
me most is my churlish carriage to him, when he was 
under his distress. Besides, I am now as he was then ; 
nothing will serve me, but going on pilgrimage. I was 
a dreaming last night that I saw him. O that my soul 
was with him ! He dwelleth in the presence of the 
King of the country ; he sits and eats with him at his 
table ; he is become a companion of immortals, and 
has a house now given him to dwell in, to which the 
best palaces on earth, if compared, seem to me but as 
a dunghill, (2 Cor. v, 1 — 4.) The Prince of the palace 
has also sent for me, with promises of entertainment, 
if I shall come to him : his messenger was here even 
now, and brought me a letter, which invites me to 
come. And with that she plucked out her letter, and 
read it, and said to them, What now will you say to this ? 

Tim. Oh, the madness that has possessed thee and 
thy husband ! to run yourselves upon such difficulties ! 
You have heard, I am sure, what your husband did 
meet with, even in a manner at the first step that he 
took on his way, as our neighbour Obstinate can yet 
testify, for he went along with him ; yea, and Pliable 
too, until they, like wise men, were afraid to go any 
farther, (Part i, p. 26—33.) We also heard, over and 
above, how he met with the lions, Apollyon, the Sha- 
dow of Death, and many other things. Nor is the 
danger that he met with at Vanity-fair to be forgotten 
by thee. For if he, though a man, was so hard put to 
it, what canst thou, being but a poor woman, do ? Con- 
sider also, that these four sweet babes are thy children, 
thy flesh and thy bones. Therefore, though thou 
shouldst be so rash as to cast away thyself, yet, for 
the sake of the fruit of thy body, keep them at home. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 233 

But Christiana said unto her, Tempt me not, my 
neighbour : I have now a price put into my hand to get 
a gain, and I should be a fool of the greatest sort, if I 
should have no heart to strike in with the opportunity. 
And for that you tell me of all these troubles that I am 
like to meet with in the way, they are so far from 
being to me a discouragement, that they show I am in 
the right. " The bitter * must come before the sweet," 
and that also will make the sweet the sweeter. Where- 
fore, since you came not to my house in God's name, 
as I said, I pray you begone, and do not disquiet me 
farther. 

Then Timorous also reviled her, and said to her 
fellow, Come, neighbour Mercy, let us leave her in her 
own hands, since she scorns our counsel and company. 
But Mercy was at a stand, and could not so readily 
comply with her neighbour ; and that for a two-fold 
reason. First, Her bowels yearned over Christiana. 
So she said within hers elf, If my neighbour will needs 
be gone, I will go a little way with her, and help her. 
Secondly, Her bowels yearned over her own soul ; for 
whatt Christiana had said had taken, some hold upon 

* "The bitter"— " Through much tribulation we must enter into the 
kingdom of God." Self-denial, mortification of our sinful inclinations, 
inward conflicts, the renunciation of worldly interests and connexions, the 
scorn and hatred of the world, sore temptations, and salutary chastisements, 
are very bitter to our natural feelings. Babits and situations often render 
some of them extremely painful, like " cutting off a right hand, or plucking 
out a right eye :" and deep poverty, persecution, or seasons of public ca- 
lamity, may enhance these tribulations. If a man, therefore, meat with 
nothing bitter, in consequence of his religious profession, he has great reason. 
to suspect, that he is not in the narrow way : yet many argue against them- 
selves, on account of tiiose very trials, which are a favourable token in their 
behalf. But, on the other hand, the believer has a "joy diat a stranger 
intermeddleth not with," which counterbalanced! all his "sorrows, so that, 
even in this life he possesses more solid satisfaction dian they do, who choose 
the road to destruction from fear of the difficulties attending die way of 
life. Satan is, however, peculiarly successful in persuading men, that 
religion, the very essence of heavenly happiness, will make diem miserable 
on earth ; and that sin, the source of all the misery in die universe, will 
make them happy I By such manifest lies does this old murderer support 
his cause ! 

t " For what"— The very things, which excite the rage and scorn of 
some persons, penetrate the hearts and consciences of others. Thus the 
Lord makes one to differ from another, by preparing die heart to receive 
the good seed of divine truth, which is sown in it : yet every one willingly 
chooses the way he takes, without any constraint or hinderance, except rus 
own prevailing dispositions. This consideration gives the greatest encou- 
ragement to die use of all proper means, in order to influence sinners to 
choose the good part : for who knows, but the most obvious truth, warning, 
or exhortation, given in the feeblest manner, may reach the conscience of a 
G4 



234 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

her mind. Wherefore she said within herself again, I 
will yet have more talk with this Christiana ; and, if 
I find truth and life in what she shall say, myself with 
my heart shall also go with her. Wherefore Mercy 
began thus to reply to her neighbour Timorous. 

Mer. Neighbour, I did indeed come with you to see 
Christiana this morning; and, since she is, as you see, 
a taking her last farewell of the country, I think to 
walk this sun-shiny morning a little with her, to help 
her on her way. But she told her not of her second 
reason, but kept it to herself. 

Tim. Well, I see you have a mind to go a fooling- 
too ; but take heed in time, and be wise ; while we are 
out of danger, we are out : but, when we are in, 
we are in. So Mrs. Timorous returned to her house, 
and Christiana betook herself to her journey. But, 
when Timorous was got home to her house, she sends 
for some of her neighbours, to wit, Mrs. Bat's-eyes, 
Mrs. Inconsiderate, Mrs. Light-mind, and Mrs. Know- 
nothing. So, when they were come to her house she 
falls to telling'of the story of Christiana, and of her 
intended journey. And thus she began her tale : * — 

Neighbours, having but little to do this morning, I 
went to give Christiana a visit ; and, when I came at 
the door, I knocked, as you know it is our custom ; 
and she answered, If you come in God's name, come 
in. So in I went, thinking all was well : but, when I 



child, relative, neighbour, enemy, or persecutor ; even when the most con- 
vincing and persuasive discourses of eloquent and learned teachers produce 
no effect ? 

* "Tale"— The following dialogue, by the names, arguments, and dis- 
course introduced into it, shows what kiud of persons despise and revile all 
those that fear God and seek the salvation of their souls ; from what princi- 
ples, affections, and conduct such opposition springs ; and on what grounds 
it is maintahied. Men of the most profligate characters, who never studied 
or practised religion in their lives, often pass sentence on the sentiments and 
actions of pious persons, and decide in the most difficult controversies, 
without the least hesitation : as if they knew the most abstruse subjects by- 
instinct or intuition, and were acquainted with the secrets of men's hearts 5 
These presumers should consider, that they must be wrong, let who will 
be right: that any religion is as good as open impiety and profligacy; and 
that it behoves them to " cast out the beam out of their own eye, before 
they attempt to pull out the mote from their brother's eye. " Believers also, 
recollecting the vain conversation from which they have been redeemed, 
and the obligations that have been conferred upon them, should not dis- 
quiet themselves about the scorn and censure of such persons, but learn 
to pray for them, as entitled to their compassion, even more than their 
detestation. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 235 

came in, I found her preparing herself to depart the 
town ; she, and also her children. So I asked her, 
what was her meaning- by that 1 And she told me in 
short, that she was now of a mind to go on pilgrimage, 
as did her husband. She told me also a dream that she 
had, and how the king of the country where her hus- 
band was had sent her an inviting letter to come thither. 

Then said Mrs. Know-nothing, And what do you 
think she will do ? 

Tim. Ay, go she will, whatever come on't ; and me- 
thinks I know it by this ; for that which was my great 
argument to persuade her to stay at home, (to wit, the 
troubles she was like to meet with in the way,) is one 
great argument with her, to put her forward on her 
journey. For she told me in so many words, " The 
bitter goes before the sweet ;" yea, and, for as much 
as it. doth, it makes the sweet the sweeter. 

Mrs. Bafs-eyes. Oh this blind and foolish woman I 
and will she not take warning by her husband's afflic- 
tions 1 For my part, I see, if he were here again, he 
would rest him content in a whole skin, and never run 
so many hazards for nothing. 

Mrs. Inconsiderate also replied, saying, Away with 
such fantastical fools from the town : a good riddance, 
for my part, I say of her ; should she stay where she 
dwells, and retain this mind, who could live quietly 
by her? for she will either be dumpish or unneigh- 
bourly, to talk of such matters as no wise body can, 
abide : wherefore, for my part, I shall never be sorry 
for her departure ; let her go, and let better come in 
her room : it was never a good world since these whim- 
sical fools dwelt in it. 

Then Mrs. Light-mind added as followeth : Come, 
put this kind of talk away. I was yesterday at Madam 
Wanton's, (Part i, p. 101,) where we were as merry as 
the maids. For who do you think should be there, 
but I and Mrs. Love-the-flesh, and three or four more, 
with Mr. Lechery, Mrs. Filth, and some others : so 
there we had music and dancing, and what else was 
meet to fill up the pleasure. And, I dare say, my lady 
herself is an admirable well-bred gentlewoman, and 
Mr. Lechery is as pretty a fellow. 



236 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

By this time Christiana was got on her way, and 
Mercy went along with her : so as they went, her chil- 
dren being there also, Christiana began to discourse. 
And, Mercy, said Christiana, I take this as an un- 
expected favour, that thou shouldest set foot out of 
doors with me to accompany me a little in my way. 

Then said young Mercy, (for she was but young,) If 
I thought it would be to purpose to go with you, I 
would never go near the town. 

Well, Mercy, said Christiana, cast m thy lot with 
me. I well know what will be the end of our pilgrim- 
age : my husband is where he would not but be for all 
the gold in the Spanish mines. Nor shalt thou be re- 
jected, though thou goest but upon my invitation.* 
The King who hath sent for me and my children, is 
one that delighteth in mercy. Besides, if thou wilt, I 
will hire thee, and thou shalt go along with me as my 
servant. Yet we will have all things in common be- 
twixt thee and me : only go along with me. 

Mer. But how shall I be ascertained that I also shall 
be entertained'? Had I this hope from one that can tell, 
I would make no stick at all, but would go, being 
helped by him that can help, though the way was never 
so tedious. 

CJir. Well,- loving Mercy, I will tell thee what thou 
shalt do : go with me to the wicket-gate, and there I 
will farther inquire for thee ; and, if there thou shalt 
not meet with encouragement, I will be content that 
thou shalt return to thy place ; I also will pay thee for 
thy kindness which thou showest to me and my children, 
in the accompanying of us in our way as thou dost. 

* " Invitation"— There are remarkable circumstances attending the con- 
version of some persons, with which others are wholly unacquainted. The 
singular dispensations of Providence, and the strong impressions made by 
the word of God upon their minds, seem to amount to a special invitation: 
whereas others are gradually and gendy brought to think on religious 
subjects, and to embrace the proposals of the Gospel ; who are, therefore, 
sometimes apt to conclude, that they have never been truly awakened 
to a concern about their souls. This discouragement is often increased 
by the discourse of such professors as lay great stress on the circumstances 
attending conversion : these misapprehensions, however, are best obviated, 
by showing that " the Lord delighteth in mercy," that Christ " will in no 
•wise cast out any that come to him," and that they who leave all earthly 

Sursuits to seek salvation, and renounce all other confidence to trust in 
le mercy of God through the redemption of his Son, shall assuredly he 
Eaved, 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 237 

Mer. Then will I go thither, and will take what 
shall follow; and the Lord grant that my lot may 
there fall, even as the King of heaven shall have his 
heart upon me. 

Christiana was then glad at heart ; not only that she 
had a companion; but also for that she had prevailed 
with this poor maid to fall in love with her own salva- 
tion. So they went on together, and Mercy began to 
weep. Then said Christiana, Wherefore weepeth my 
sister so ? 

Alas ! said she, who can but lament, that shall but 
rightly consider what a state and condition my poor 
relations are in, that yet remain in our sinful town : and 
that which makes my grief the more is, because they 
have no instruction, nor any to tell them what is to come. 

Chr. Bowels become pilgrims : and thou doest for 
thy friends, as my good Christian did for me when he 
left me ; he mourned for that I would not heed nor 
regard him ; but his Lord and ours did gather up his 
tears, and put them into his bottle ; and now both I 
and thou, and these my sweet babes, are reaping the 
fruit and benefit of them. I hope, Mercy, that these 
tears of thine will not be lost ; for the truth hath said, 
that " they that sow in tears, shall reap in joy" and sing- 
ing. And " he that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing 
precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoic- 
ing, bringing his sheaves with him," (Psal. cxxvi, 5, 6.) 

Then said Mercy, 

Let the most Blessed be my guide, 

If 't be his blessed will, 
Unto his gate, into his fold, 

Up to his holy hill : 
And let him never suffer me 

To swerve or turn aside 
From his free-grace and holy ways, 

Whate'er shall me betide, 
And let him gather them of mine, 

That I have left behind ; 
Lord, make them pray they may be thine, 

With all their heart and mind. 

Now my old friend proceeded, and said, But, when 



£38 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Christiana came to the slough of Despond, (Part i. p, 
29—32,) she began to be at a stand ; For, said she, this 
is the place in which my dear husband had like to have 
been smothered with mud. She perceived also, that 
notwithstanding the command of the king to make this 
place for pilgrims good; yet it was rather worse* than 
formerly. So I asked if that was true 1 Yes, said the 
old gentleman, too true ; for many there be that pre- 
tend to be the king's labourers, and say they are for 
mending the king's highways, that bring dirt and dung 
instead of stones, and so mar instead of mending. 
Here Christiana, therefore, and her boys, did make a 
stand. But, said Mercy, Come, let us venture ; only 
let us be wary. Then they looked well to their steps, 
and made a shift to get staggering over. 

Yet Christiana had like to have been in, and that not 
once or twice. Now they had no sooner got over, but 
the} 7 thought they heard words that said unto them, 
" Blessed is she that believeth, for there shall be a per- 
formance of what has been told her from the Lord,'' 
(Luke i, 45.) 

Then they went on again ; and said Mercy to Chris- 
tiana, Had I as good ground to hope for a loving recep- 
tion at the wicket-gate as you, I think no slough of 
Despond could discourage me. 

* " Worse"— The author seems to have observed a declension of evan- 

felical religion, subsequent to the publication of his original Pilgrim, 
'robably he was grieved to find many renounce or adulterate the Gospel, 
by substituting plausible speculations, or moral lectures in its stead ; by 
narrowing and confining it within the limits of a nice system, which pre- 
vents the preacher from freely inviting sinners to come unto Clirist ; by 
representing the preparation of heart, requisite to a sincere acceptance of 
free salvation, as a legal condition of being received by him ; or by con- 
demning all diligence, repentance, and tenderness of conscience, as inter- 
fering with an evangelical frame of spirit. By these, and various other 
misapprehensions, the passage over the slough is made worse ; and they 
occasion manifold discouragements to awakened sinners, even to this day : 
for, as the promises, strictly speaking, belong only to believers, if invitations 
and exhortations be not freely given to sinners in general, a kind of gulpn 
will be formed, over which no way can be seen, except as men take it for 
granted, without any kind of evidence, that they are true believers, which 
opens the door to manifold delusions and enthusiastic pretensions. But if 
all be invited, and encouraged to ask, that diey may receive, the awakened 
sinner will be animated to nope in God's mercy, and use the means of grace, 
and thus giving diligence to make his calling and election sure, he will be 
enabled to rise superior to the discouragements, by which others are retarded. 
Labourers enough, indeed, are ready to lend their assistance, in mending 
the road across this slough ; but let them take care that they ase none but 
scriptural nfaterials, or they will make bad worse. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 239 

Well, said the other, you know your sore,* and I 
know mine ; and, good friend, we shall all have enough 
evil before we come to our journey's end. For it can- 
not be imagined, that the people that design to attain 
such excellent glories as we do, and that are so envied 
that happiness as we are, but that we shall meet with 
what fears and snares, with what troubles and afflic- 
tions, they can possibly assault us with, that hate us. 

And now, Mr. Sagacity left me to dream out my 
dream by myself. Wherefore, methought I saw Chris- 
tiana and Mercy, and the boys, go all of them up to the 
gate ; to which when they came, they betook them- 
selves to a short debate, about how they must manage 
their calling at the gate ; and what should be said unto 
him that did open unto them; so it was concluded, 
since Christiana was the eldest, that she should knock 
for entrance, and that she should speak to him that did 
open, for the rest. So Christiana began to knock, and, 
as her poor husband did, she knocked and knocked 
again, (Part i, p. 44.) But instead of any that answered, 
they all thought they heard as if a dog came barking 
upon them ; a dog, and a great one too ; and this made 
the women and children afraid. Nor durst t they for 
awhile to knock any more, for fear the mastiff should 
fly upon them. Now therefore they were greatly 
tumbled up and down in their minds, and knew not 
what to do ; knock they durst not for fear of the dog ; 
go back they durst not, for fear the keeper of that gate 
should spy them as they so went, and be offended with 
them; at last they thought of knocking again, and 

• " Yoitr sore" — Some persons are discouraged by recollecting past sins, 
and imagining them too henious to be forgiven ; while others disquiet them- 
selves by the apprehension, that they have never been truly humbled and 
converted. Indeed, all the varieties in the experience of those, who, upon 
the whole, are walking in the same path, can never be enumerated, and 
some of them are not only unreasonable, but unaccountable, through the 
weakness of the human mind, the abiding effects of peculiar impressions, 
the remains of unbelief and the artifices of Satan. 

-f " Nor durst" — The greater fervency new converts manifest in prayer 
for themselves and each other, the more violent opposition will they experi- 
ence from the powers of darkness. Many have felt such terrors, whenever 
they attempted to pray, that they have for a tune been induced wholly to 
desist ; and doubtless, numbers, whose convictions were superficial, have 
thus been finally driven back to their former course of ungodliness. But 
when the fear of God, and a real belief of his word, possess the heart ; such 
disturbances.cannot long prevent earnest cries for mercy, but will eventually 
render them ..more fervent and importunate than ever. 



240 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

knocking more vehemently than they did at first. 
Then said the keeper of the gate, " Who is there V 
So the dog left off to bark, and he opened upon them. 

Then Christiana made low obeisance, and said, Let 
not our Lord be offended with his handmaidens, for that 
we have knocked at his princely gate. Then said the 
keeper, Whence come ye 1 And what is it that you 
would have ? 

Christiana answered, We are come from whence 
Christian did come, and upon the same errand as he ; 
to wit, to be, if it shall please you, graciously admitted, 
by this gate, into the way that leads unto the Celestial 
City. And I answer, my Lord, in the next place, that 
I am Christiana, once the wife of Christian, that now 
is gotten above. 

With that the keeper of the gate did marvel, saying, 
What, is she now become a pilgrim, that bat awhile 
ago abhorred that life ? Then she bowed her head, and 
said, Yea; and so are these my sweet babes also. 

Then he took her by the hand, and let her in. and 
said also, " Suffer the little children to come unto me," 
and with that he shut up the gate. This done, he 
called to a trumpeter that was above, over the gate, to 
entertain Christiana with shouting and sound of 
trumpet, for joy. So he obeyed, and sounded, and 
filled the air with his melodious notes. 

Now all this while poor Mercy did stand without, 
trembling and crying for fear that she was rejected. 
But when Christiana had gotten admittance for herself 
and her boys, then she began to make intercession for 
Mercy. 

And she said, My Lord, I have a companion of mine 
that stands yet without, that has come hither upon the 
same account as myself; one that is much dejected 
in her mind, for that she comes, as she thinks, without 
sending for ; whereas I was sent to by my husband's 
King to come. 

Now Mercy began to be very impatient, and each 
minute was as long to her as an hour ; wherefore she 
prevented Christiana from a fuller interceding for her, 
oy knocking at the gate herself. And she knocked 
then so loud, that she made Christiana to start. Then 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 241 

said the keeper of the gate, Who is there ? And Chris- 
tiana said, It is my friend. 

So he opened the gate and looked out, but Mercy 
was fallen down without in a swoon, for she fainted, 
and was afraid that no gate would be opened to her. 

Then he took her by the hand, and said, "Damsel, I 
bid thee arise." 

sir, said she, I am faint ; there is scarce life left in 
me. But he answered, that one said, " When my soul 
fainted within me, I remembered the Lord, and my 
prayer came unto thee, into thy holy temple," (Jonah 
ii, 7.) Fear not, but stand upon thy feet, and tell me 
wherefore thou art come. 

Afer. I am come for that unto which I was never 
invited, as my friend Christiana was. Hers was from 
the King, and mine was but from her. Wherefore I 
presume. 

Good. Did she desire thee to come with her to this 
place ? 

Mer. Yes ; and, as my Lord sees, I am come : and, 
if there is any grace and forgiveness of sins to spare, I 
beseech that thy poor handmaid may be partaker thereof. 

Then he took her again by the hand, and led her 
gently in, and said, I pray for all them that believe on 
me, by what means soever they come unto me. Then 
said he to those that stood by, Fetch something, and give 
it Mercy to smell on, thereby to stay her faintings. So 
they fetched her a bundle of myrrh. Awhile after she 
was revived. 

And now was Christiana, and her boys, and Mercy, 
received of the Lord at the head of the war-, and spoke 
kindly unto by him. Then said they yet farther unto 
him, We are sorry for our sins, and beg of our Lord his 
pardon, and farther information what we must do. 

1 grant pardon, said he, by word* and deed; by 
word in the promise of forgiveness : by deed in the 
way I obtained it. Take the first from my lips with a 

* " By word"—" Pardon by word" denotes the general discovery of free 
salvation by Jesus Christ to. all that believe ; which, beine depended on by 
the humbled sinner, is sealed by transient comforts and lively affections. 
''Pardon by deed" relates to the manner in which the blessing was pur- 
chased by the Saviour ; and when this is clearly understood, the believer 
attains to stable peace and hope. This coincides with the explanation already 



242 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

kiss, and the other as it shall be revealed, (Cant, i, 2 ; 
John xx, 19.) 

Now I saw in my dream, that he spake many good 
words unto them, whereby they were greatly gladded. 
He also had them up to the top of the gate, and showed 
them by what deed they were saved ; and told them 
withal, that that sight they would have again as they 
went along in the way to their comfort. 

So he left them awhile in a summer parlour below, 
where they entered into talk by themselves ; and thus 
Christiana began : O Lord how glad' am I that we are 
got in hither ! 

Mer. So 50U well may ; but I of all have cause to 
leap for joy. 

Chr. I thought one time as I stood at the gate, (be- 
cause I had knocked and none did answer,) that all our 
labour had been lost ; especially when that ugly cur 
made such a heavy barking at us. 

Mer. But my worst fear was, after I saw that you 
was taken into his favour, and that I was left behind. 
Now, thought T, it is fulfilled which is written, " Two 
women shall be grinding together, the one shall be 
taken and the other left," (Matt, xxiv, 41.) I had much 
ado to forbear crying out, Undone ! And afraid I was 
to knock an}" more ; bat, when I looked up to what 
was written* over the gate, (Part i, p. 44,) I took 
courage, I also thought, that I must either knock 
again or die ; so I knocked, but I cannot tell how ; for 
my spirit now struggled between life and death. 

given of the Gate, the Cross, and the Sepnlclire : and it will be farther con- 
firmed in the sequel. The " pardon by deed" must be waited for ; yet the 
pilgrims obtained a distant glimpse of the deed by which they were saved, for 
some general apprehensions of redemption by the cross of Christ commonly 
connect with die believers' first comforts ; though the nature and glory of it 
be more fully perceived as they proceed. 

* '• Written"— The express words of such invitations, exhortations, and 
promises prove more etfectual to encourage those who are ready to give up 
their hopes, than all the consolatory topics that can possibly be substituted 
in their place. It is, therefore, much to be lamented, that pious men, by 
adhering to a supposed systematical exactness of expression, should clog 
such scriptural addresses with exceptions and limitations, which the Spirit 
of GcKidid not see good to insert. They will not say diat the omission was 
an oversight in dielnspired writers; or admit the thought for-a moment, 
that they can improve on their plan : why then cannot they be satisfied to 
"speak according to the oracles of God," without affecting a more entire 
consistency ? Great mischief has thus been done by very did'erent descrip- 
tions of men, who undesignedly concur in giving Satan an occasion of 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 243 

Chr. Can you not tell how you knocked 1 I am sure 
your knocks were so earnest, that the very sound 
made me start ; I thought I never heard such knocking' 
in all my life : I thought you would come in by a violent 
hand, or take the kingdom by storm, (Matt, xi, 12.) 

Mer. Alas, to be in my case ! who that so was could 
but have done so 1 You saw that the door was shut 
upon me, and that there was a most cruel dog there- 
about. Who, I say, that was so faint-hearted as I, 
would not have knocked with all their might 1 But 
pray, what said my Lord unto my rudeness ! Was he 
not angry with me ? 

Chr. When he heard your lumbering noise, he gave 
a wonderful innocent smile : I believe what you did 
pleased him well, for he showed no sign to the con- 
trary. But I marvel in my heart why he keeps such a 
dog : had I* known that before, I should not have had 
heart enough to have ventured myself in this manner. 
But now we are in, we are in, and I am glad with all 
my heart. 

Mer. I will ask, if you please, next time he comes 
down, why he keeps such a filthy cur in his yard : I 
hope he will not take it amiss. 

Do so, said the children, and persuade him to hang 
him, for we are afraid he will bite us when we go 
hence. 

So at last he came down to them again, and Mercy 
fell to the ground on her face before him, and wor- 
shipped, and said, Let my Lord accept the sacrifice of 

suggesting to the trembling inquirer, that perhaps he may persevere in 
asking, seeking, and knocking, with the greatest earnestness and impor- 
tunity, and yet finally be a cast-away. V\ hen the sinner praj's under 
the urgent fear of perishing, he is excited to peculiar fervency of spirit ; 
and the more fervent our prayers are, the better are they approved by 
the Lord, how much soever men may object to the manner or expressions 
of them. 

* " Had I" — Could soldiers, when they enlist, foresee all the dangers and 
hardships to be encountered : or could mariners, when about to set sail, be 
fully aware of all the difficulties of the voyage ; their reluctancy or dis- 
couragement would be increased by the prospect. But, when they have 
engaged, they find it impossible to recede ; and thus they press forward 
through one labour and peril after another, till the campaign or voyage be 
accomplished. Thus it is with the Christian : but they strive for corruptible 
tilings, which they may never live to obtain ; while he seeks for an incor- 
ruptible crown of glory, of which no event can deprive him. If he knew 
all from the first, it would be his only wisdom to venture ; whereas the case 
with them is commonly very different. 



S44 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

praise which I now offer unto him with the calves of 
my lips. 

So he said unto her, " Peace be to thee ; stand up." 
But she continued upon her face, and said, " Righteous 
art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee, yet let me 
talk with thee of thy judgments," (Jer. xii, 1, 2:) 
wherefore dost thou keep so cruel a dog in thy yard, at 
the sight of which such women and children as we 
are ready to flee from the gate for fear 1 

He answered and said, That dog has another owner: 
he is also kept close in another man's ground, only my 
pilgrims hear his barking : he belongs to the castle 
which you see there at a distance, (Part i, p. 45 ;) but 
can come up to the walls of this place. He has frighted 
many an honest pilgrim from worse to better, by the 
great voice of his roaring. Indeed, he that owneth 
him doth not keep him out of any good-will to me or 
mine, but with intent to keep the pilgrims from coming 
to me, and that they may be afraid to come and knock 
at this gate for entrance. Sometimes also he has 
broken out, and has worried some that I loved ; but I 
take all at present patiently. I also give my pil- 
grims timely help, so that they are not delivered up 
to his power, to do to them what Ills doggish nature 
would prompt him to. But what ! my purchased one, 
I trow, hadst thou known never so much beforehand, 
thou wouldst not have been afraid of a dog. The beg- 
gars that go from door to door will, rather than they 
will lose a supposed alms, run the hazard of the bawl- 
ing, barking, and biting too, of a dog : and shall a dog 
in another man's yard, a dog whose barking 1 turn to 
the profit of pilgrims, keep any from coming to me ? I 
deliver them from the lions, and " my darling from the 
power of the dog." 

Then said Mercy, I confess my ignorance : I speak 
what I understand not : I acknowledge that thou doest 
all things well. 

Then Christiana began to talk of their journey, and 
to inquire after the way, (Part i. p. 47, 48.) So he fed 
them and washed their feet, and set them in the way 
of his steps, according as he had dealt with her hus- 
band before. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. S43 

So I saw in my dream, that they went on their way ; 
and the weather was comfortable to them. 
Then Christiana began to sing, saying : 

Bless'd be the day that I began 

A pilgrim for to be ; 
And blessed also be that man 

That thereunto moved me. 
'Tis true, 'twas long ere I began 

To seek to live for ever, (Matt, xx, 16 ;) 
But now I run fast as 1 can ; 

'Tis better late than never. 
Our tears to joy, our fears to faith, 

Are turned, as we see ; 
That our beginning, (as one saith,) 

Shows what our end will be. 

Now there was on the other side of the wall, that 
fenced in the way, up which Christiana and her com- 
panions were to go, a garden, and that belonged to him, 
whose was that barking dog, of whom mention was 
made before. And some of the fruit trees, that grew 
in the garden, shot their branches over the wall ; and 
being mellow, they that found them did gather them 
up and eat of them to their hurt. So Christiana's 
boys, (as boys* are apt to do,) being pleased with the 
trees, and with the fruit that did hang thereon, did 
pluQk them, and began to eat. Their mother did also 
chide them for so doing, but still the boys went on. 

Well, said she, my sons, you transgress, for that 
fruit is none of ours : but she did not know that they 
did belong to the enemy : I'll warrant you, if she had, 
she would have been ready to die for fear. But that 

* " As boys"— The terrifying suggestions of Satan give believers much 

E resent uneasiness ; yet they often do them great good, and never eventually 
urt them : but the allurements of those worldly objects, which he throws 
in their way, are far more dangerous and pernicious. Many of these, for 
which the aged have no relish, are very attractive to young persons : but, 
Instead of conniving at their indulging themselves, from an idea that allow- 
ance must be made for youth, all who love the souls of their children should 
use their influence and authority to restrain them from such vain pleasures 
as " war against the soul," and are most dangerous when least suspected. 
This fruit may be found in the pilgrim's path ; but it grows in Beelzebub's 
garden, and should be shunned as poison. Many diversions and pursuits, 
Both in high and low life, are of this nature, though often pleaded for as 
innocent by some persons who ought to know better. 



•346 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

passed, and they went on their way. Now, by that 
they were gone about two bows-shot from the place 
that led them into the way, they spied two * very ill- 
fa vonred ones coming down apace to meet them. With 
that Christiana and Mercy, her friend, covered them- 
selves with their veils, and kept also on their journey: 
the children also went on before : so that at last they 
met together. Then they that came down to meet 
them came just up to the women, as if they would 
embrace them: but Christiana said, Stand back, or go 
peaceably as you should. Yet these two, as men that 
are deaf, regarded not Christiana's words, but began 
to lay hands upon them : at that Christiana waxed very 
wroth, and spurned at them with her feet. Mercy also, 
as well as she could, did what she could to shift 
them. Christiana again said to them, Stand back, and 
be gone, for we have no money to lose, being pilgrims, 
as you see, and such too as live upon the charity of our 
friends. 

Then said one of the two men, We make no assault 
upon your money, but are come out to tell you, that if 
you will but grant one small request which we shall 
ask, we will make women of you for ever. 

Now Christiana, imagining what they should mean, 
made answer again, We will neither hear nor regard, 
nor yield to what you shall ask. We are in haste, and 
cannot stay : our business is of life and death. So 
again she and her companions made a fresh essay to 
go past them : but they letted them in their way. 

And they said, We intend no hurt to your lives ; 'tis 
another thing we would have. 

* " Two"— Satan designs, by every means, to take off awakened sinners 
from the great concern of eternal salvation ; and he makes use of ungodly 
men for that purpose, among his manifold devices agaiust the female sex. 
These are very ill-favoured to the gracious mind ; however alluring their 
persons, circumstances, or proposals may be to the carnal eye. As such 
vile seducers are too often successful, they are emboldened to attempt even 
those who profess to be religious : nor are they always repulsed by them, 
for many, of whom favourable hopes were once entertained, have thus 
•awfully been again entangled and overcome, so that their last state has been 
worse than the first. But when such proposals are repulsed with decided 
abhorrence, and earnest prayers, the Lord will give deliverance and victory. 
"The faithful admonitions and warnings of a stated pastor are especially 
intended by the conductor. The reliever seems to represent the occasional 
direction and counsel of some able minister ; for he speaks of Christ as his 
Lord, and must therefore be considered as one of the servants by whojft 
ibelp is sent to the distressed. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 247 

Ay, quoth Christiana, you would have us body and 
soul, for 1 know 'tis for that you are come ; but we will 
-die rather upon the spot, than to suffer ourselves to be 
brought into such snares as shall hazard our well-being 
hereafter. And with that they both shrieked out, and 
cried, murder ! murder! and so put themselves under 
those laws that are provided for the protection of wo- 
men, (Deut. xxii, 23—27.) But the men still made their 
approach upon them, with design to prevail against 
them. They therefore cried out again. 

Now they being, as I said, not far from the gate, in 
at which they came, their voice was heard from where 
they were thither : wherefore some of the house came 
out, and, knowing that it was Christiana's tongue, they 
made haste to her relief. But by that they were got 
within sight of them, the women were in a very great 
scuffle : the children also stood crying by. Then did 
he that came in for their relief call out to the ruffians, 
saying, What is that thing you do 1 Would you make 
my Lord's people to transgress? He also attempted to 
take them ; but they did make their escape over the 
wall 'into the garden of the man to whom the great 
<log belonged: so the dog became their protector. 
This reliever then came up to the women, and asked 
them how they did. So they answered, We thank thy 
prince, pretty well; only we have been somewhat 
affrighted: we thank thee also, that thou earnest in to 
our help, for otherwise we had been overcome. 

So after a few more words, this reliever said, as fol* 
loweth : I marvelled much, when you were entertained 
at the gate above, being ye know that ye were but 
weak women, that you petitioned not the Lord for a 
conductor : then might you have avoided these trou- 
bles and dangers : he would have granted you one. 

Alas ! said Christiana, we were so taken with our 
present blessing, than dangers to come were forgotten 
by us : beside, who could have thought, that so near 
the king's palace there should have lurked such 
naughty ones ! Indeed, it had been well for us had 
we asked our Lord for one ; but, since our Lord knew 
it would be for our profit, I wonder he sent not one 
along with us. 



248 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Rel. It is not always necessary to grant tilings not 
asked for, lest by so doing they become of little esteem ; 
but, when the want of a thing is felt, it then comes 
under, in the eyes of him that feels it, that estimate 
that properly is its due ; and so consequently will be 
hereafter used. Had my Lord granted you a conduc- 
tor, you would not, neither, so have bewailed that over- 
sight of yours in not asking for one, as now you have 
occasion to do. So all things work for good, and tend 
to make you more wary. 

Chr. Shall we go back again to my Lord, and con- 
fess our folly, and ask one 1 

Rel. Your confession of your folly will I present 
him with : to go back again, you need not : for in all 
places where you shall come you will find no want at 
all ; for at every of my Lord's lodgings, which he 
has prepared for the reception of his pilgrims, there is 
sufficient to furnish them against all attempts whatso- 
ever. But as 1 said, " he will be inquired of by them, 
to do it for them," (Ezek. xxxvi, 37.) And it is a poor 
tiling that is not worth asking for. When he had thus 
said, he went back to his place, and the pilgrims went 
on their way. 

Then said Mercy, what a sudden blank is here ! I 
made account we had been past all danger, and that 
we should never sorrow more. 

Thy innocency, my sister, said Christiana to Mercy, 
may excuse thee much ; but, as for me, my fault is so 
much the greater, for that I saw this danger before I 
came out of the doors, and yet did not provide for it 
where provision might have been had. I am much to 
be blamed. 

Then said Mercy, How knew you this before you 
came from home 1 Pray open to me this riddle. 

Chr. Why, I will tell you. Before I set foot out of 
doors, one night, as I lay in my bed, I had a dream 
about this ; for methought I saw two men, as like these 
as ever the world they could look, stand at my bed's 
feet, plotting how they might prevent my salvation. 
I will tell you their very words: they said, (it was 
when I was in my troubles,) "What shall we do with 
this woman? for she cries out waking and sleeping foj 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 249 

forgiveness : if she be suffered to go on as she begins, 
we shall lose her as we have lost her husband." This 
you know might have made me take heed, and have 
provided when provision might have been had. 

Well, said Mercy, as by this neglect we have an oc- 
casion ministered unto us to behold our imperfections, 
so our Lord has taken occasion thereby to make mani- 
fest the riches of his grace : for he, as we see, has 
followed us with unasked kindness, and has delivered 
us from their hands that were stronger than we, of 
his mere good pleasure. 

Thus now, when they had talked away a little more 
time, they drew near to a house that stood in the way ; 
vhich house was built for the relief of pilgrims ; as 
you will find more fully related in the first part of the 
records of the " Pilgrim's Progress," (P. i, p. 48 — 59.) So 
they drew on towards the house (the house of the Inter- 
preter ;) and when they came to the door, they heard a 
great talk in the house : then they gave ear, and heard, 
as they thought, Christiana mentioned by name. For 
yoi must know, that there went along, even before 
he:, a talk of her and her children going on pilgrimage. 
And this was the more pleasing to them, because they 
had heard that she was Christian's wife, that woman 
who was some time ago so unwilling to hear of going 
on pilgrimage. Thus, therefore, they stood still, and 
hesjd the good people within commending her who 
they little thought stood at the door. At last Chris- 
tiana knocked ; as she had done at the gate before. 
Now, when she had knocked, there came to the door a 
young damsel, named Innocent, and opened the door, 
and looked, and, behold, two women w*ere there 

Then said the damsel to them, With whom would 
you speak in this place 1 

Christiana answered, We understand that this is a 
privileged place for those that are become pilgrims, and 
we now at this door are such ; wherefore we pray that 
we may be partakers of that for which we at this time 
are come ; for the day, as thou seest, is very far spent, 
and we are loath to-night to go any farther. 

Dam. Pray what may I call your name, that I may 
tell it to my Lord within ? 

11* 



250 

Chr. My name is Christiana ; I was the wife of tha* 
pilgrim that some years ago did travel this way ; and 
these be his four children. This maiden is also my 
companion, and is going on pilgrimage too. 

Then ran Innocent in (for that was her name,) and 
said to those within, Can you think who is at the door ? 
there is Christiana and her children, and her compa- 
nion, all waiting for entertainment here ! Then they 
leaped for jcy, and went and told their master. So 
he came to the door, and, looking upon her, he said, 
Art thou that Christiana whom Christian the good man 
left behind him, when he betook himself to a pilgrim's 
life? 

Clir. I am that woman that was so hard-hearted a,s 
to slight my husband's troubles, and that left him to 
go on his journey alone ; and these are his four chil- 
dren ; but now I also am come, for I am convinced tlat 
no way is right but this. 

Inter. Then is fulfilled that which is written of ;he 
man that said to his son, " Go work to-day in my vhe- 
yard ; and he said to his father, I will not ; but after- 
wards repented and went," (Matt, xxi, 28, 29.) 

Then said Christiana, So be it : Amen. God male it 
a true saying upon me, and grant that I may be found 
at the last " of him in peace, without spot, and blame- 
less !» 

Inter. But why standest thou at the door 1 Come in, 
thou daughter of Abraham : we were talking of thee 
but now, for tidings have come to us before, how thou 
art become a pilgrim. Come, children, come in : come 
maiden, come. So he had them all into the house. 

So, when they were within, they were bidden to sit 
down and rest them ; the which when they had done, 
those that attended upon the pilgrims in the house- 
came into the room to see them. And one smiled, and 
another smiled, and another smiled, and they all smiled, 
for joy that Christiana was become a pilgrim : they also- 
looked upon the boys ; they stroked them over their 
faces with their hands, in token of their kind reception* 
of them : they also carried it lovingly to Mercy, aiw$ 
bid them all welcome into their Master's house- 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 251: 

After awhile, because supper was not ready, the Inter- 
preter took them into his significant rooms, and showed 
them what Christian, Christiana's husband, had s"een 
some time before. Here therefore they saw the man 
in the cage, the man and his dream, the man that cut 
his way through his enemies, and the picture of the 
biggest of all ; together with the rest of those things 
that were then so profitable to Christian. 

This done* and after those things had been some- 
what digested by Christiana and her company, the In- 
terpreter takes them apart again, and has them first 
into a room where was a man that could look no way 
but downwards, with a muck-rake in his hand : there 
stood also one over his head with a celestial crown in 
his hand, and proffered him that crown for his muck- 
rake ; but the man did neither look up nor regard, but 
rake to himself the straws, the small sticks, and dust 
of the floor. 

Then said Christiana, I persuade myself that I know 
somewhat the meaning of this ; for this is the figure of 
a man in this world : is it not, good Sir 1 

Thou hast said right, s-aid he, and his muck-rake doth 
show his carnal mind. And whereas thou seest him 
rather give heed to rake up straws and sticks, and the 
dust of the floor, than do what he says that calls to 
him from above, with the celestial crown in his hand ; 
it is to show, that heaven is but as a fable to some, and 
that things here are counted the only things substan- 
tial. Now, whereas it was also shewed thee, that the 
man could look no way but downwards, it is to let thee 
know, that earthly things, when they are with power 
upon men's minds, quite carry their hearts away from 
God. 

Then said Christiana, Oh ! deliver me from this-muck- 
rake. 

* " This done"— The emblematical instruction at the Interpreter's house,. 
!h the former part, was so important and comprehensive, that no other selec- 
tion equally interesting could be expected: some valuable hints, however, 
are here adduced. The first emblem is very plain ; and so apposite, that it- 
is wonderful any person should read it without lifting up a prayer to the 
Lord, and saying, " Oh ! deliver me from this muck-rake." Yet alas, it is= 
to be feared, such prayers are still little used even by professors of the Gospel ;: 
at least they are contradicted by the habitual conduct of numbers among: 
them : and this may properly lead us to weep over, others and tremble* fojF 



252 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

That prayer, said the Interpreter, has lain by till it is 
almost rusty; " Give me not riches," is scarce the prayer 
of one of ten thousand, (Pro v. xxx, 8.) Straws, and 
sticks, and dust, with most, are the great things now 
looked after. 

With that Mercy and Christiana wept, and said, It is, 
alas ! too true. 

When the Interpreter had showed them this, he had 
them into the very best room in the house (a very brave 
room it was :) so he bid them look round about, and see 
if they could find any thing profitable there. Then 
they looked round and round ; for there was nothing to 
be seen but a very great spider* on the wall ; and that 
they overlooked. 

Then said Mercy, Sir, I see nothing ; but Christiana 
held her peace. 

But, said the Interpreter, Look again : she therefore 
looked again, and said, " Here is not any thing but an 
ugly spider, who hangs by her hands upon the wall." 
Then said he, Is there but one spider in all this spa* 
cious room 1 Then the water stood in Christiana's eyes, 
for she was a woman quick of apprehension ; and she 
said, Yes, Lord, there is more here than one. Yea, and 
spiders whose venom is far more destructive than that 
which is in her. The Interpreter then looked pleasantly 
on her, and said, Thou hast said the truth. This made 
Mercy blush, and the boys to cover their faces, for they 
all began now to understand the riddle. 

Then said the Interpreter again, " The spider taketh 
hold with her hands (as you see,) and is in king's pa- 

* " Spider" — The instruction grounded on accommodation of Scriptural 
quotations, though solid and important, is not so convincing to the undeB» 
standing as that which results from the obvious meaning of the words, 
though many persons are for the time more excited to attention by a lively 
exercise of the imagination, and the surprise of unexpected inferences. 
This method, however, should be used with great caution by the friends of 
truth ; for it is a most formidable engine in the hands of those who endea- 
vour to pervert or oppose it. The author did not mean by the emblem of 
the spider, that the sinner might confidently assure himself of salvation by 
the blood of Christ, while he continued full of the poison of sin, without 
experiencing or evidencing any change : but only, that no consciousness 
of inward pollution or actual guilt need discourage any one from apply- 
ing to Christ, and fleeing for refuge to " lay hold on the hope set before 
him," that thus he may be delivered from condemnation, and cleansed from 
pollution, and so made meet for those blessed mansions, into which OO un- 
clean thing can find admission. 



WITH SCOTTS NOTES. 253 

laces." And wherefore is this recorded, but to show you, 
that how full of the venom of sin soever you be, yet 
you may, by the hand of faith, lay hold of, and dwell 
in the best room that belongs to the Bang's house above? 

I thought, said Christiana, of something of this, bat 
I could not imagine it all. I thought, that we were 
like spiders, and that we looked like ugly creatures, in. 
what fine rooms soever we were ; but that by this spi- 
der, this venomous and ill-favoured creature, we were 
to learn how to act faith, that came not into my 
thoughts ; that she worketh with hands ; and, as I see, 
dwells in the best room in the house. God has made 
nothing in vain. 

Then they seemed all to be glad ; but the water stood 
in their eyes : yet they looked one upon another, aad 
also bowed before the Interpreter. 

He had them then into another room, where was a 
lien* and chickens, and bid them observe awhile. So 
one of the chickens went to the trough to drink, and 
every time she drank she lifted up her head and her 
eyes towards heaven. See, said he, what this little 
chick doeth, and learn of her to acknowledge whence 
your mercies come, by receiving them with looking 
up. Yet again, said he, observe and look ; so they gave 
heed, and perceived that the hen did walk in a four- 
fold method toward her chickens. 1. She had a com- 
mon call, and that she had all the day long. 2. She 
had a special call, and that she had but sometimes. 
3. She had a brooding note. And 4. She had an oak- 
ery, (Matt, xxiii. 37.) 



* "A hen" — Oar Lord b?.th, in immense condescension, employed this 
emblem to represent his tender love to liis people, for whom he bare the 
storm of wrath himself, that they might be safe and happy under the shadow 
of his wings, (Matt, xxiii, 37.) The common call signifies the general 
invitations of the Gospel, which should be addressed without restriction to 
all men diat come under die sound of it : "as many as ye find, bid to the 
marriage. " The special call denotes those influences of the Sprit, by which 
the heart is sweetly made willing to embrace the invitation, and apply for 
the blessing, in die use of the appointed means, by which shiners actually 
experience the accomplishment of the promises, as their circumstances 
require. The brooding note was intended to represent that communion with 
God, and those consolations of the Holy Spirit, which die Scriptures eneoa- 
rage us to expect, and by which die believer is trained up for eternal felicity ; 
whilst the out-cry refers to the warnings and cautions, by which believers 
are excited to vigilance, circumspection, and self-examination, and to 
beware of all deceivers and delusions. 

H 



£54 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Now, said lie, compare this hen to your Kin?, and 
these chickens to his obedient ones. For, answ 
to her. himself has his methods, which he wali : 
3 people ; by his common call he 
.- : special call he always has som 
to give ; he has also a brooding voice for them that 
are mirier his wing ; and he has an out-cry. to give 
the alarm when he seeth the some. I choose, 

my rigs, to lead you into the room where 

ire, because you are women, and they axe 2asy 
for you. 

1 Christiana, pray let *s see some more. 
So he had them into the slaughter-house, where was 

\.er killing of sheep ; and behold the she 
quiet, and took her death patiently. Then s 

: : r, you must learn of this sheep to suffer. : 

put up wrong without murmurings and complaints. 
Behold how quietly she takes her death, and, wi 
objecting, she suffereth her skin to be pulled over her 
ears. Your King doth call you his sheep. 

A er this he led them into his garden,* where was 
great variety of flowers ; and he said. Do }~ou see all 
these? So Christiana said, Yes. Then said he 
the flowers are diverse in stature, in c 
and colour, and smell, and virtue : and some are better 
than some ; also where the gardener hath set them, 
there they stand, and quarrel not one with another. 
Again, he had them into his field,! which he had 

* " Garden"' — We ought not to be contented (so to speak,) wi" 
tion among the useless and noxious yt rt : but if we be planted 

among the ornao 5 of the Lord's , 

- shed and honoured. We should, there- 
fore, wai tvy and ambition, contempt of cur bradiren, and con- 
tention. We~ ought to be satisfied in our place, doing ling through 
strife or vain-glory," or " with mnrmurings and di'sp tilings :" but endeavour- 
ing, in the meekness of wisdom, to diffuse a heavenly fragrance around us, 
. the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. " 
Id' 5 — The labour and expense of the husbandman are not repaid 
ay or the chaff, but by the corn. The humiliation and - 
of Christ, I ion of tlie Gospel, the promises and instituted ordi- 
nances, and the labours of ministers, were not intended merely to bring men 
i - certain doctrines, or observe certain forms ; or even to produce 
convictions, affections, or comforts, in any order or degree whatst 
to render men fruitful in good works, by the influences of the Spirit of Christ, 
and through his sanctifying truth : and all profession will terminate in ever- 
lasting contempt and misery, which is not productive of this good fruit, 
whatever men may pretend, or however they may deceive themselves and 
one another. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 255 

sown with wheat and corn : but when they beheld, the 
tops of all were cut off, only the straw remained. He 
said again, This ground was dunged, and sowed ; but 
w r hat shall we do with the crop 1 Then said Christiana, 
Burn some, and make muck of the rest. Then said 
the Interpreter again, Fruit, you see, is that thing you 
■look for, and for want of that you condemn it to the 
fire, and to be trodden under foot of men ; beware that 
in this you condemn not yourselves. 

Then, as they were coming in from abroad, they 
spied a robin with a great spider in his mouth ; so the 
Interpreter said,, Look here. So they looked, and 
Mercy wondered, but Christiana said, what a dispa- 
ragement is.it to such a little pretty bird as the robin- 
red-breast is ! he being also a bird above many, that 
loveth to maintain a kind of sociableness with men : 
I had thought they had lived upon crumbs of bread, 
or upon other such harmless matter ; 1 like him worse 
than I did. 

The Interpreter then replied, This robin is an em- 
blem, very apt to set forth some professors by ; for to 
sight they are, as this robin, pretty of note, colour, and 
carriage ; they seem also to have a very great love for 
professors that are sincere ; and above all other to de- 
sire to associate with them, and to be in their com- 
pany; as if they could live upon the good man's 
crumbs. They pretend also, that therefore it is that 
they frequent the house of the godly, and the appoint- 
ments of the Lord ; but when they are by themselves, 
as the robin, they catch and gobble up spiders, they 
can change their diet, drink and swallow down sin like 
water. 

So when they were come again into the house, be- 
cause supper as yet was not ready, Christiana again 
desired that the Interpreter would either show or tell 
some other things that are profitable. 

Then the Interpreter began, and said : The fatter the 
sow is, the more she desires the mire ; the fatter the 
ox is, the more gamesomely he goes to the slaughter ; 
and the more healthy the lusty man is, the more prone 
is he unto evil. 

There is a desire in women to go neat and fine ; and 



256 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

it is a comely thing to be adorned with that, which in 
God's sight is of great price. 

'Tis easier watching a night or two, than to sit up a 
whole year together : so 'tis easier for one to begin to 
profess well, than to hold out as he should to the end. 

Every shipmaster, when in a storm, will willingly 
cast that overboard that is of the smallest value in the 
vessel : but who will throw the best out first 1 None 
but he that feareth not God. 

One leak will sink a ship ; and one sin* will destroy 
a sinner. 

He that forgets his friend, is ungrateful unto him : 
but he that forgets his Saviour, is unmerciful to him- 
self. 

He that lives in sin, and looks for happiness here- 
after, is like him that soweth cockle, and thinks to fill 
his barn with wheat or barley. 

If a man would live well, let him fetch his last day 
to him, and make it always his company-keeper. 

Whispering and change of thoughts prove that sin 
is in the world. 

If the world, which God sets light by, is counted a 
thing of that worth with men ; what is heaven, that 
God commendeth 1 

If the life that is attended with so many troubles, is 
so loath to be let go by us, what is the life above ? 

Every body will cry up the goodness of men ; but who 
is there, that is, as he should be, affected with the good- 
dess of God } 

We seldom sit down to meat, but we eat and leave : 
so there is in Jesus Christ more merit t and righteous- 
ness than the whole world has need of. 

When the Interpreter had done, he takes them out 
into his garden again, and had them to a tree, whose 

* " One sin"— By repentance and faith in Christ, the leaks that sin hath 
made are, as it were, stopped : but one sin, habitually committed with 
allowance, proves a man's profession hypocritical, however plausible it may 
be in all other respects ; as one leak unstopped will assuredly at length sink 
the ship. 

t " More merit" — This observation is grounded on the good old distinc- 
tion, that the merit of Christ's obedience unto death is sufficient for all, 
though only effectual to some ; namely, in one view of the subject, to the 
elect, in another to all who by faith apply for an interest in it. This makes 
way for general invitations, and 6howe it to be every one's duty to repent 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 257 

inside was all rotten and gone, and yet it grew and 
had leaves. Then said Mercy, What means tins ? — 
This tree, said he, whose outside is fair, and whose 
inside is rotten, is it, to which many may be compared 
that are in the garden of God : who with their mouths 
speak high in behalf of God, but indeed will do nothing 
for him ; whose leaves are fair, but their heart good 
for nothing, but to be tinder for the devil's tinder-box. 
Now supper Was ready, the table spread, and all 
things set on board; so they sat down and did eat, 
when one had given thanks. And the Interpreter did 
usually entertain those that lodged with him with 
music at meals ; so the minstrels played. There was 
also one that did sing, and a very fine voice he had. 
His song was this — 

" The Lord is only my support, 

And he that doth me feed ; 
How can I then want any thing 

Whereof I stand in need ?" 

When the song and music were ended, the Inter- 
preter asked Christiana, what it was that at first did 
move her thus to betake herself to a pilgrim's life ? 
Christiana answered, First, the loss of my husband 
came into my mind, at which I was heartily grieved : 
but all that was but natural affection. Then, after 
that, came the troubles and pilgrimage of my husband 
into my mind, and also how like a churl I had carried 
it to him as to that. So guilt took hold of my mind, 
and would have drawn me into the pond ; but that 
opportunely I had a dream of the well-being of my 
husband, and a letter sent me by the King of that coun- 
try where my husband dwells, to come to him. The 
dream and the letter together so wrought upon my 
mind, that they forced me to this way. 

Inter. But met you with no opposition before you set 
out of doors. 

and believe the Gospel ; as nothing but pride, the carnal mind, and enmity 
to God and religion, influence men to neglect so great salvation : and. when 
the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit accompanies the word, sinners 
are made willing to accept the proffered mercy, and encouraged by the 
general invitations, which before they sinfully slighted. 



25S THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Chr. Yes, a neighbour of mine, one Mrs. Timorous 
(she was kin to him that would have persuaded my 
husband to go back, for fear of the lions,) she also so 
befooled me, for, as she called it, my intended despe- 
rate adventure ; she also urged what she could to dis- 
hearten me from it ; the hardship and troubles that my 
husband met with in the way ; but all this I got over 
pretty well. Eut a dream that I had of two ill-looked 
ones, that I thought did plot how to make me miscarry 
in my journey, that hath troubled me : yea, it still runs 
in my mind, and makes me afraid of every one that I 
meet, lest they should meet me to do me a mischief, 
and to turn me out of the way. Yea, I may tell my 
Lord, though I would not that every body knew it, that 
between this and the gate by which we got into the 
way, we were both so sorely assaulted, that we were 
made to cry out murder ; and the two that made this 
assault upon us, were like the two that I saw in my 
dream. 

Then said the Interpreter, Thy beginning is good, 
thy latter end shall greatly increase. So he addressed 
him to Mercy, and said unto her, and what moved thee 
to come hither, sweetheart ? 

Then Mercy blushed and trembled, and for awhile 
continued silent. 

Then said he, Be not afraid, only believe, and speak 
thy mind. 

Then she began and said, Truly, Sir, my want of ex- 
perience is that which makes me covet to be in silence, 
and that also that filleth me with fears of coming short 
at last. I cannot tell of visions and dreams, as my 
friend Christiana can : nor know I what it is to mourn 
for my refusing of the counsel of those that were good 
relations. 

Inter. What was it then, dear heart, that hath pre- 
vailed with thee to do as thou hast done ? 

Mercy. Why, when our friend here was packing up 
to be gone from our town, I and another went accident- 
ally to see her. So we knocked at the door, and went 
in. When we were within, and seeing what she was 
doing, we asked her what she meant ? She said, she 
was sent for to go to her husband ; and then she up 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 259 

and told us hdw she had seen him in a dream, dwelling 
in a curious place, among immortals, wearing a crown, 
playing upon a harp, eating and drinking at his Prince's 
table, and singing praises to him for the bringing him 
thither, etc. Now methought while she was telling 
these tilings unto us, my heart burned within me. And 
I said in my heart, if this be true, I will leave my father 
and my mother, and the land of my nativity, and will, 
if I may, go along with Christiana. 

So I asked her farther of the truth of these things, 
and if she would let me go with her; for I saw now, 
that there was no dwelling, but with the danger of 
ruin, any longer in our town. But yet I came away 
with a heavy heart ; not for that I was unwilling to 
come away, but for that so many of my relations were 
left behind. And I am come with all my heart, and 
will, if I may, go with Christiana to her husband, and 
his King. 

Liter. Thy setting out is good, for thou hast given 
credit * to the truth ; thou art a Ruth, who did, for the 

* t: Given credit" — This is a most simple definition of faith : it is " the 
belief of the truth," as the sure testimony of God, relative to our most im- 
portant concerns. When we thus credit diose irudis that teach as the peril 
of our situation as justly condemned sinners, we are moved with fear, and 
humbled in repentance ; when we thus believe the report of a refuge pro- 
vided for us. our hopes are excited : those truths that relate to inestimable 
blessing's attainable by us, when really credited, kindle our fervent desires ; 
while such as show us the glory, excellency, and mercy of God our Saviour, 
and our obligations to his redeeming grace, produce, and work by, love, 
gratitude, and every fervent affection. This living faith influences a man's 
judgment, choice, and conduct ; and especially induces him to receive Jesus 
Christ for all the purposes of salvation, and to yield himself to his service, 
as constrained by love of him and zeal for his glory. We need no other 
ground for this faidi than the authenticated word of God. This may be 
brought to our recollection by means of distress or danger, or even in a 
dream, or widi some very strong impression on the mind : yet true faith 
rests only on the word of God, according to its meaning as it "stands in the 
Bible ; and not on the manner in which it occurs to the thoughts, or accord- 
ing to any new sense put upon it in a dream, or by an impression ; as this 
would be a new revelation. For if the words, " Thy sins are forgiven thee, ; ' 
should be impressed on my mind ; they would contain a declaration nowhere 
made in Scripture concerning me ; consequently the belief of diem on diis 
ground would be a faith not warranted by die word of God. Now as we 
have no reason to expect such new revelations, and as Satan can counter- 
feit any of these impressions ; we must consider every thing of this kind as 
opening a door to enthusiasm, and the most dangerous delusions ; diough 
many, who rest Uieir confidence on them, have also scriptural evidence of 
their acceptance, which they overlook. On the other hand, should the fol- 
lowing words be powerfully impressed on my mind, " Him diat cometh to 
me I will in no wise cast out," or, " He diat confesseth and forsaketh his 
sin shall find mercy :" I may deduce encouragement from the words, accord- 
ing to the genuine meaning of them as they stand in Scripture, without any 



26ft THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

lave she bare to Naomi, and to the Lord her God, leave 
father and mother, and the land of her nativity, to 
come out and go with a people that she knew not 
before. " The Lord recompense thy work, and a full 
reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under 
whose wings thou art come to trust," (Ruth ii, 11, 12.) 

Now supper was ended, and preparation was made 
for bed : the women were laid singly alone, and the 
boys by themselves. Now when xMercy was in bed, 
she could not sleep for joy, for that now her doubts of 
missing at the last were removed farther from her 
than ever they were before. So she lay blessing and 
praising God. who had such favour for her. 

In the morning they arose with the sun, and pre- 
pared themselves for their departure ; but the Inter- 
preter would have them tarry awhile ; for, said he, 
yon must orderly go from hence. Then said he to the 
damsel that first opened unto them, Take them and 
have them into the garden to the Bath,* and there 
wash them and make them clean from the soil which 
they have gathered by travelling. Then Innocent the 
damsel took them, and led them into the garden and 
brought them to the Bath ; so she told them, that there 
they must wash and be clean, for so her Master would 
have the women to do, that called at his house as they 
were going on pilgrimage. Then they went in and 

dread of delusion, or any pretence to new revelations ; provided I be con- 
scious that I do come to "Christ, and confess my sins with the sincere purpose 
of forsaking them. But there are so many dangers in this matter, that the 
more evidently our faith arid hope are grounded wholly on the plain testi- 
mony of God. and confirmed by our subsequent experience and conduct, 
the safer will our course be, and the less occasion will be given to the objec- 
tions of our despisers. 

* "Badi :; — The author calls this " Thebadi of sanctification." in a mar- 
ginal note : whence we may infer, that he especially meant to intimate, that 
believers should constantly seek fresh supplies of grace from the Holy Spirit, 
to purify their hearts from the renewed defilement of sin, which their inter- 
course with the world will continually occasion ; and to revive and invigo- 
rate those holy affections, which in the same manner are apt to grow 
languid. Yet he did not intend to exclude dieir habitual reliance on the 
blood of Christ for pardon and acceptance : for in both respects we need 
daily washing. The sanctification of die Spirit unto obedience, warrants 
the true Christian's " peace and joy in believing:" it gives him beauty ia 
the sight of his brethren ; it strengthens him for every conflict and service ; 
and the image of Christ discernible in his spirit and conduct, seals him as a 
child of Got!" and an heir of glory ; while die inward consciousness of living 
by faith in the Son of God for all the blessings of salvation, and of experi- 
encing all filial affections towards God as his reconciled Father, inspires him 
with humble joy and confidence in his love. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 261 

washed, yea, they and the boys and all ; and they came 
out of that Bath not only sweet and clean, but also 
much enlivened and strengthened in their joints. So 
when they came in they looked fairer a deal than when 
they went out to the washing. 

When they were returned out of the garden from 
the Bath, the Interpreter took them, and looked upon 
them, and said unto them, " Fair as the moon." Then 
he called for the seal, wherewith they used to be 
sealed that were washed in his Bath. So the seal was 
brought, and he set his mark upon them, that they 
might be known in the places whither they were yet 
to go. Now the seal was the contents and sum of the 
passover which the children of Israel did eat when 
they came out of the land of Egypt, (Exod. xiii, 8— 10 ;) 
and the mark was set between their eyes. This seal 
greatly added to their beauty, for it was an ornament 
to their faces. It also added to their gravity, and made 
their countenances more like them of angels. 

Then said the Interpreter again to the damsel that 
waited upon the women, " Go into the vestry, and 
fetch out garments for these people : so she went and 
fetched out white raiment,* and laid it down before 
him: so he commanded them to put it on: it was 
" fine linen, white and clean." When the women were 
thus adorned, they seemed to be a terror one to the 
other ; for that they could not see that glory each one 
in herself, which they could see in each other. Now 
therefore they began to esteem each other better than 
themselves. For you are fairer than I am, said one; 
and you are more comely than I am, said another. 
The children also stood amazed, to see in what fashion 
they were brought. 

* " White raiment" — The pilgrims are supposed to have been justified 
on their admission at the gate ; the Interpreter is the emblem of the Holy 
Spirit : and the raiment here mentioned rendered those who were adorned 
with it comely in the eyes of their companions. We cannot, dierefore, 
with propriety explain it to signify the righteousness of Christ imputed to 
the believer, but the renewal of the soul to holiness ; for this alone is visible 
to the eyes of men. They, who have put on this raiment, are also " clothed 
with humility ;" so that they readily perceive the excellencies of other believ- 
ers, but cannot discern their own, except when they look in the glass of 
God's word. At the same time they become very ig ; or to r r«f their own 
defects, and severe in animadverting on them, hid can no otherwly candid 
to then brethren : and thus they learn the bar 1 
better than themselves." 

H2 



The Interpreter then called for a man-servant of his, 
one Great-heart,* and bid him take a sword, and hel- 
met, and shield ; and take these my daughters, said he, 
conduct them to the house called Beautiful, at. which 
place they will rest next. So he took his weapons, 
and went before them ; and the Interpreter said, God 
speed. Those also that belonged to the family sent 
them away with many a good wish. So they went on 
their way, and sang, 

This place has been our second stage, 

Here we have heard and seen 
Those good things, that from age to age 

To others hid have been. 
The dunghill-raker, spider, hen, 

The chicken too, to me 
Hath taught a lesson ; let me then 

Conformed to it be. 
The butcher, garden, and the field, 

The robin and his bait, 
Also the rotten tree doth yield 

Me argument of weight ; 
To move me for to watch and pray, 

To strive to be sincere, 
To take my cross up day by day, 

And serve* the Lord with fear. 

Now I saw in my dream, that those went on, and 
Great-heart before them ; so they went and came to 
the place where Christian's burthen fell off his back, 
and tumbled into a sepulchre, (Part i, p. 60.) Here 
then they made a pause ; here also they blessed God. 
Now, said Christiana, it comes to my mind what was 
said to us at the gate, to wit, that we should have 
pardon by word and deed ; by word, that is, by the 
promise; by deed, to wit, in the way it. was obtained. 
What the promise is, of that I know something ; but 
what it is to have pardon by deed, or in the way it was 
obtained, Mr. Great-heart, I suppose you know; 

* "Great-heart" — The stated pastoral care of a vigilant minister, who is 
Btrong in faith, and courageous in the cause of God, is represented by the 
conductor of the pilsrrimsT We shall have repeated opportunities of show- 
ing how d« ir ;ua;'htlec thor was to recommend this advantage to his readers, 
to excite .amble joy and fcfol for it, and to avail themselves of it when gra* 



THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 263 

which, if you please, let us hear your discourse 
thereof. 

Gr.-h. Pardon * by the deed done, is pardon obtained 
by some one, for another that hath need thereof; not 
by the person pardoned, but in the way, saith another, 
in which I have obtained it. So then, (to speak to the 
question more at large,) the pardon that you, and 
Mercy, and these boys have attained by another; to 
wit, by him that let you in at that gate : and he hath 
obtained it in this double way ; he hath performed 
righteousness to cover you, and spilt blood to wash 
you in. 

Chr. But if -he parts with his righteousness to us, 
what will he hare for himself? 

Gr.-h. He has more righteousness than you have 
need of, or than he needeth himself. 

Chr. Pray make that appear. 

Gr.-h. With all my heart : but first I must premise, 

* " Pardon"— The subsequent discourse, on " Pardon by the deed done," 
confirms the interpretation that hath been given of the cross, and of Chris- 
tian's deliverance from his burthen. The doctrine is, however, here stated 
in a manner to which some may object, and indeed it is needlessly syste- 
matical and rather obscure. By the righteousness of Christ as God, his 
essential divine attributes of justice and" holiness must be intended : hi3 
righteousness as man denotes his human nature as free from all the defile- 
ment of sin. The righteousness of his person, as he hath the two natures 
joined in one, can only mean the perfection of his mysterious person in all 
respects ; and his capacity of acting as our surety, by doing and suffering 
in our nature all that u r as requisite, while his divine nature stamped an 
infinite value on his obedience unto death. The eternal Word, the only 
begotten Son of God, was under no obligation to assume our nature : and 
when he had seen good to assume it, he was not bound to live a number of 
years here on earth, obedienj. to the law, both in its ceremonial and moral 
requirements, amidst hardships, sufferings, and temptations of every kind ; 
except as he had undertaken to be our surety. 'In this sense he himself 
had no need of that righteousness which he finished for our justification. 
And assuredly he was under no obligation, as a perfectly holy man, to suffer 
even unto the violent, torturing, and ignominious death upon the cross. 
That part of his obedience, which consisted in enduring agony, and pain in 
body and soul, was only needful as he bare our sins, and gave himself a 
sacrifice to God for us. Indeed, his righteouness is not the less his own, by 
being imputed to us: for we are considered as one with him by faith, and 
thus " made the righteousness of God in him," and we are justified in virtue 
of this union. He was able by his temporal sufferings and death to pay 
our debt and ransom our inheritance, thus delivering us from eternal mis- 
ery, which else had been inevitable, and bringing us to eternal life, which 
had otherwise been unattainable ; and the law of love to which as a man 
he became subject, required him to do this : for if we loved our " neighbour 
as ourselves," we should be willing to submit to any inferior loss, hard- 
ship, or suffering, to rescue au enemy or stranger from a greater and more 
durable misery, which he hath no other way of escaping ; or to secure to 
him a more valuable and permanent advantage, which can no otherwise be 
obtained. 



264 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

that he, of whom we are now about to speak, is one 
that has not his fellow. He has two natures in one 
person, plain to be distinguished, impossible to be di- 
vided. Unto each of these natures a righteousness 
belongeth, and each righteousness is essential to that 
nature. So that one may as easily cause the natures 
to be extinct, as to separate its justice or righteousness 
from it. Of these righteousnesses, therefore, we are 
not made partakers, so that they, or any of them, 
should be put upon us, that we might be made just, 
and live thereby. Besides these, there is a righteous- 
ness which this person has, as these two natures are 
joined in one. And this is not the righteousness of 
the God-head, as distinguished from the manhood ; nor 
the righteousness of the manhood, as distinguished 
from the Godhead ; but a righteousness which standeth 
in the union of both natures, and may properly be called 
the righteousness that is essential to its being prepared 
of God to the capacity of the mediatory office, which 
he was entrusted with. If he parts with his first righ- 
teousness, he parts with his Godhead : if he parts with 
his second righteousness, he parts with the purity of 
his manhood : if he parts with his third, he parts with 
that perfection which capacitates him to the office of 
mediation. He has therefore another righteousness, 
which standeth in performance, or obedience to a 
revealed will : and that is what he puts upon sinners, 
and that by which their sins are covered. Wherefore 
he saith, " As by one man's disobedience, many were 
made sinners : so, by the obedience of one, shall many 
be made righteous," {Rom. v, 19.) 
Chr. But are the other righteousnesses of no use to us 1 
Gr.-h. Yes ; for though they are essential to his na- 
tures and office, and cannot be communicated unto 
another, yet it is by virtue of them that the righteous- 
ness that justifies is for that purpose efficacious. The 
righteousness of his Godhead gives virtue to his obe- 
dience ; the righteousness of his manhood giveth capa- 
bility to his obedience to justify; and the righteous- 
ness, that standeth in the union of these two natures 
to his office, giveth authority to that righteousness to 
do the work for which it was ordained. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 265 

So then here is a righteousness that Christ, as God, 
has no need of: for he is God without it: here is a 
righteousness that Christ, as man, has no need of to 
make him so, for he is perfect man without it : again, 
here is a righteousness that Christ, as God-man, has 
no need of, for he is perfectly so without it. Here 
then is a righteousness that Christ, as God, and as 
God-man, has no need of, with reference to himself, 
and therefore he can spare it ; a justifying righteous- 
ness, that he for himself wanteth not, and therefore 
giveth it away. Hence it is called, " the gift of righte- 
ousness," (Rom. v, 17.) This righteousness, since 
Christ Jesus the Lord has made himself under the 
law, must be given away ; for the law doth not bind 
him that is under it, to do justly, but to use charity. 
Wherefore he must, or ought by the law, if he hath 
two coats, to give one to him that has none. Now 
our Lord indeed hath two coats, one for himself, and 
one to spare ; wherefore he freely bestows one upon 
those that have none. And thus, Christiana and 
Mercy, and the rest of you that are here, doth your 
pardon come by deed, or by the work of another 
man. Your Lord Christ is he that worked, and hath 
given away what he wrought .for to the next poor 
beggar he meets. 

But again, in order to pardon by deed, there must 
something be paid to God as a price, as well as some- 
thing prepared to cover us withal. Sin has delivered 
us up to the just course of a righteous law ; now, from 
this course we must be justified by way of redemption, 
a price being paid for the harms we have done ; and 
this is by the blood of your Lord, who came and 
stood in your place and stead, and died your death 
for your transgressions. Thus has he ransomed you 
from your transgressions by blood, and covered your 
polluted and deformed souls with righteousness, (Rom. 
viii, 34; Gal. iii, 13;) for the sake of which, God 
passeth by you, and will not hurt you, when he comes 
to judge the world. 

Chr. This is brave ; now I see that there was some- 
thing to be learned by our being pardoned by word 
and deed. Good Mercy, let us labour to keep this m 
H3 12 



266 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

mind; and my children, do you remember it also. 
But, Sir, was not this it that made my good Christian's 
burthen fall from off his shoulder, and that made him 
give three leaps for joy? 

Gr.-h. Yes, it was the belief of this that cut off 
those strings, that could not be cut by other means j 
and it was to give him a proof of the virtue of this, 
that he was suffered to carry his burthen to the cross. 

Chr. I thought so ; for though my heart was lightful 
and joyous before, yet it is ten times more lightsome 
and joyous now. And I am persuaded by what I have 
felt, (thougn I have felt but little as yet,) that if the 
most burthened man in the world was here, and did 
see and believe as I now do, it would make his heart 
the more merry and blithe. 

Gr.-h. There is not only one comfort, and the ease 
of a burthen brought to us, by the sight and considera- 
tion of these, but an endeared affection begot in us by 
it ; for who can, (if he does but once think that pardon 
comes not only by promise, but thus) but be affected 
with the way and means of redemption, and so with 
the man that hath wrought it for him 1 

€hr. True ; methinks it makes my heart bleed to 
think that he should bleed for me. Oh! thou lov r ing 
One ! Oh ! thou blessed One ! Thou deservest to 
have me; thou hast bought me; thou deservest to 
have me all; thou hast paid for me ten thousand 
times more than I am worth! No marvel that this 
made the water stand in my husband's eyes, and that 
it made him trudge so nimbly on'; I am persuaded he 
wished me with him : but vile wretch that I was ! 
I let hirn come all alone. O Mercy, that thy father* 



* " Thy father"— When believers, " in the warmth of their affections," 
feel the humbling, melting, endearing, and sanctifying effects of contem- 
plating the glory of the cross, and -die "love of Christ in dying for sinners, 
and considering themselves as the special objects of that inexpressible com- 
passion and kindness, they are apt to conclude that the belief of the propo- 
sitions, that Clirist loves them and died -for them, and that God is reconciled 
to them, produces the nge by its own influence ; and would affect the 
ual hearts it . • same manner, could men be persuaded to believe 
it : for they vainly imagine, that apprehensions of God's severity, and dread 
of his vengeance, are the sources of the enmity which sinners manifest 
against him. Hence very lively and affectionate Christian? have frequently 
been prone to sanction the unscriptural tenet, that the justifying act of faith 
consists iu aifiuredly belie ving that Christ died .fqrme in particular, and 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 267 

and mother were here ; yea, and Mrs. Timorous also ; 
nay, I wish now with all my heart, that here was 
Madam Wanton too. Surely, surely, their hearts 
would be affected ; nor could the fear of the one, nor 
the powerful lusts of the other, prevail with them to 
go home again, and refuse to become good pilgrims. 

Gr.-h. You speak now in the warmth of your affec- 
tions; will it, think you, be always thus with you? 
Besides that is not communicated to every one, nor 

that God loves me ; and to consider this appropriation as preceding repent- 
ance, and every other gracious disposition ; and in some sense the cause of 
regeneration, winning the heart to love God, and to rejoice in him and in 
obeying his commandments. From this doctrine others have inferred, that 
if all men, and even devils too, believed the love of God to them, and his 
purpose at length to make them happy, they would be won over from their 
rebellion against him, which they persist in from a mistaken idea, that he is 
their implacable enemy ; and they make this one main argument, in sup- 
port of the salutary tendency of the final restitution scheme. But all these 
opinions arise from a false and flattering estimate of human nature ; for 
the carnal mind hates the scriptural character of God, and the glory dis- 

flayed in the cross, even more than that which shines forth in the fiery law. 
ndeed, if we take away the offensive part of the Gospel, the honour it puts 
upon the law and its awful sanctions, and the exhibition it makes of the 
divine justice and holiness, it will give the proud carnal heart but litde 
umbrage : if we admit that men's aversion to God and religion arise from 
misapprehension, and not desperate wickedness, many will endure the doc- 
trine. A reconciliation, in which God assures the sinner that he has for- 
given him, even before he has repented of his sins, will suit man's pride ; 
and if he have been previously frighted, a great flow of affections will follow ; 
but the event will prove, that they differ essentially from spiritual love of 
God, gratitude, holy joy, and genuine humiliation, which arise from a true 
perception of the glorious perfections of God, the righteousness of his law 
and government, the real nature of redemption, and the odiousness and 
desert of sin. In short, all such schemes render regeneration needless ; or 
substitute something else in its stead, which is effected by a natural process, 
and not by the new-creating power of the Holy Spirit. But, when this 
divine agent has communicated life to the soul, and a capacity is produced 
of perceiving and relishing spiritual excellency, the enmity against God 
receives a mortal wound ; from that season the more his real character and 
glory are known, the greater affection will be excited, and a proportionable 
transformation into the same holy image effected. Then the view of the 
cross, as the grand display of all the harmonious perfections of the Godhead, 
will soften, humble, and meliorate the heart ; while the persuasion of an 
interest in these blessings, and an admiring sense of having received such 
inconceivable favours trom this glorious and holy Lord God, will still far- 
ther elevate the soul above all low pursuits, and constrain it to the most 
unreserved and self-denying obedience. But, while the heart remains unre- 
generate, the glory of God and the Gospel will either be misunderstood, or 
hated in proportion as it is discovered. Such views and affections therefore 
as have been described spring from special grace ; are not produced by the 
natural efficacy of any sentimeuts, but by the immediate influences of the 
Holy Spirit ; so that even true believers, though they habitually are per- 
suaded of their interest in Christ, and the love of God to them, are only at 
times thus filled with holy affections : nor will the same contemplations 
constantly excite similar exercises ; but they often bestow much pains to 
get their minds affected by them in vain ; while at other times a single 
glance of thought fills them with the most fervent emotioas of holy love 
and joy. 



268 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

to every one that did see your Jesus bleed. There 
were that stood by, and that saw the blood run 
from the heart to the ground, and yet were so far 
off this, that instead of lamenting, they laughed at 
him ; and, instead of becoming his disciples, did harden 
their hearts against him. So that all that you have, 
my daughters > you have by peculiar impression made 
by a divine contemplating upon what I have spoken 
to you. Remember that it was told you, that the hen, 
by her common call, gives no meat to her chickens. 
This you have, therefore, by a special grace. 

Now I saw still in my dream, that they went on 
until they were come to the place that Simple, and 
Sloth, and Presumption, lay and slept in, when Chris- 
tian went by on pilgrimage ; and behold they were 
hanged* up in irons a little way off on the other side. 

Then said Mercy to him that was their guide and 
conductor, What are these three men? and for what 
are they hanged there 1 

Gr.-h. These three men were men of bad qualities ; 
they had no mind to be pilgrims themselves, and 
whomsoever they could they hindered ; they were for 
sloth and folly themselves, and whomsoever they 
could persuade, they made so too ; and withal taught 
them to presume that they should do well at last. 
They were asleep when Christian went by; and now 
you go by they are hanged. 

Mer. But could they persuade any one to be of their 
opinion ? 

Gr.-h. Yes, they turned several out of the way. 
There was Slow-pace they persuaded to do as they. 



* " Hanged" — The dreadful fall and awful deaths of some professors are 
often made notorious, for a warning to others : and to put them upon their 
guard against superficial, slothful, and presumptuous men, who draw aside 
many from the holy ways of God. The names of the persons thus deluded 
show the reasons why men listen to deceivers ; for these are only the occa- 
sions of their turning aside, the cause lies in the concealed lusts of their own 
hearts. The transition is very easy from orthodox notions and profession 
without experience, to false and loose sentiments, and then to open ungod- 
liness. These lines are here inserted under a plate : — 

" Behold here how the slothful are a sign 
Hnng up 'cause holy ways they did decline : 
See here too, how the child doth play die man. 
And weak grows strong, when Great-heart leads the van- n 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. S69 

They also prevailed with one Short-wind, with one 
No-heart, with one Linger-after-lust, and with one 
Sleepy-head, and with a young woman, her name was 
Dull, to turn out of the way and become as they. Be- 
sides, they brought up an ill report of your Lord, per- 
suading others that he was a hard taskmaster. They 
also brought up an evil report of the good land, saying 
it was not half so good as some pretended it was. 
They also began to villify his servants, and to count the 
best of them meddlesome, troublesome, busy-bodies: 
farther, they would call the bread of God, husks ; the 
comforts of his children, fancies; the travail and 
labour of pilgrims, things to no purpose. 

Nay, said Christiana, if they were such, they should 
never be bewailed by me : they have but what they 
deserve ; and I think it well that they stand so near the 
highway, that others may see and take warning. But 
had it not been well if their crimes had been engraven 
on some pillar of iron or brass, and left here where 
they did their mischiefs, for a caution to other bad 
men? 

Gr.-h. So it is, as you may well perceive, if you will 
go a little to the wall. 

Mer. No, no ; let them hang, and their names rot, 
and their crimes live for ever against them : I think it 
is a high favour that they are hanged before we came 
hither ; who knows else what they might have done to 
such poor women as we are 1 Then she turned it into 
a song, saying : — 

Now then you three hang there, and be a sign 
To all that shall against the truth combine. 
And let him that comes after fear this end, 
If unto pilgrims he is not a friend. 
And thou, my soul, of all such men beware, 
That unto holiness opposers are. 

Thus they went on, till they came at the foot of the 
hill Difficulty, where again their good friend, Mr. 
Great-heart, took an occasion to tell them what hap- 
pened there when Christian himself went by (P. L 
p. 66, 67.) So he had them first to the spring: Lo, 
H4 



270 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

saith he, this is the spring that Christian drank of be- 
fore he went up this hill ; and then it was clear* and 
good, but now it is dirty with the feet of some, that 
are not desirous that pilgrims here should quench their 
thirst, (Ezek. xxxiv, 18.) Thereat Mercy said, And 
why so envious, trow ? But said the guide, It will do, 
if taken up and put into a vessel that is sweet and 
good; for then the dirt will sink to the bottom, and the 
water come out by itself more clear. Thus, therefore, 
Christiana and her companions were compelled to do. 
They took it up, and put into an earthen pot, and so 
let it stand till the dirt was gone to the bottom, and 
then they drank thereof. 

Next he showed them the two by-ways that were at 
the foot of the hill, where Formality and Hypocrisy 
lost themselves. And, said he, these are dangerous 
paths : two were here cast away when Christian came 
by. And although you see these ways are since stop- 
ped! up with chains, posts, and a ditch, yet there are 
they that will choose to adventure here, rather than 
take the pains to go up this hill. 

Chr. "The way of transgressors is hard," (Prov. 
xiii, 15 :) it is a wonder that they can get into those 
ways without danger of breaking their necks. 

Gr.-h. They will venture ; yea, if at any time any 
of the King's servants do happen to see them, and 
doth call upon them, and tell them that they are in 
the wrong ways, and do bid them beware of the dan- 



* " Clear" — This passage shows, that the preaching of the Gospel was 
especially intended by die spring in the former part of the work. Since 
that had been published, the authorhad witnessed a departure from the sim- 
plicity of the Gospel, as has been before observed, (note, p. 233.) This 
might be done unadvisedly in those immediately concerned ; but it originated 
from the devices of evil men, and the subtlety of Satan. Nevertheless they 
who honestly and carefully aimed to distinguish between the precious and 
the vile, might separate the corrupt part from the truths of God, and from 
the latter derive comfort and establishment. 

t "Stopped" — The express declarations, commandments, and warnings 
of Scripture, and the heart-searching doctrine and distinguishing applica- 
tion of taithful ministers, sufficiently hedge up all those by-ways, into which 
professors are tempted to turn aside: but carnal self-love, and desire of ease 
to the flesh, which always opposes its own crucifixion, induce numbers to 
break through all obstacles, and to risk their eternal interests rather than 
deny themselves and endure hardship in the way to heaven. Nor will 
teachers be wanting to flatter them with the hope of being saved by notion- 
ally believing certain doctrines, while they practically treat the whole word 
of God as a be. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 271 

ger, then they railingly return them answer, and say, 
" As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the 
name of the King, we will not hearken unto thee : but 
we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth out of 
our mouths," (Jer. xliv, 16, 17.) Nay, if you look a 
little farther, you shall see that these ways are made 
cautionary enough, not only by these posts, and ditch, 
and chain, but also by being hedged up ; yet they will 
choose to go there. 

Chr. They are idle ; they love not to take pains ; 
up-hill way is unpleasant to them. So it is fulfilled 
unto them as it is written, " The way of the slothful 
man is as a hedge of thorns," (Prov. xv, 19.) Yea, 
they will rather choose to walk upon a snare, than 
to go up this hill, and the rest of this way to the city. 

Then they set forward, and began to go up the hill, 
and up the hill they went ; but before they got up to 
the top, Christiana began to pant, and said, I dare say 
this is a breathing hill ; no marvel if they that love 
their ease more than their souls choose to themselves 
a smoother way. Then said Mercy, I must sit down ; 
also the least of the children began to cry : Come, 
come, said Great-heart, sit not down here, for a little 
above is the Prince's arbour. Then he took the little 
boy by the hand, and led him thereto. 

When they were come to the arbour, they were very 
willing to sit down, for they were all in a pelting heat. 
Then said Mercy, How sweet is rest to them that 
labour, (Matt, xi, 28 ;) and how good is the Prince of 
pilgrims, to provide such resting-places for them ! Of 
this arbour I have heard much; but I never saw it be- 
fore. But here let us beware ; of sleeping: for, as I 
have heard, for that it cost poor Christian dear. 

Then said Mr. Great-heart to the little ones, Come, 
my pretty boys, how do you do ? What think you now 
of going on pilgrimage 1 Sir, said the least, I was 
almost beat out of heart ; but I thank you for lending 
me a hand at my need. And I remember now what 
my mothef hath told me, namely, that the way to 
heaven is as a ladder, and the way to hell is as down a 
hill. But I had rather go up the ladder to life, than 
down the hill to death. 



272 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS,' 

Then said Mercy, But the proverb is, " To go down 
the hill is easy:" but James said, (for that was Ms 
name,) The day is coming when, in my opinion, going 
down the hill will be the hardest of all. 'Tis a good 
boy, said his master, thou hast given her a right an- 
swer. Then Mercy smiled, but the little boy did blush. 

Come, said Christiana, will you eat a bit, to sweeten 
your mouths, while you sit here to rest your legs 1 For 
I have here a piece of pomegranate, which Mr. Inter- 
preter put into my hand just when I came out of his 
doors ; he gave me also a piece of an honey-comb and 
a little bottle of spirits. I thought he gave you some- 
thing, said Mercy, because he called you aside. Yes, 
so he did, said the other. But, said Christiana, it 
shall be still as I said it should, when at first we came 
from home ; thou shalt be a sharer in all the good that 
I have, because thou so willingly didst become my 
companion. Then she gave to them, and they did eat, 
both Mercy and the boys. And, said Christiana to Mr. 
Great-heart, Sir, will you do as we 1 But he answered, 
You are going on pilgrimage, and presently I shall re- 
turn : much good may what you have do to you. At 
home I eat the same every day. Now when they had 
eaten and drunk, and had chatted a little longer, their 
guide said to them, The day wears away ; if you think, 
good, let us prepare to be going. So they got up to go, 
and the little boys went before : but Christiana forgot 
to take her bottle of spirits with her ; so she sent her 
little boy back to fetch it. Then said Mercy, I think 
this is a losing place. Here Christian lost his roll; 
and here Christiana left her bottle behind her ; Sir, 
what is the cause of this ? So their guide made 
answer and said, The cause is sleep or forgetfulness ; 
some sleep when they should keep awake ; and some 
forget when they should remember ; and this is the 
very cause, why often at the resting-places some pil- 
grims in some things come off losers. Pilgrims should 
watch, and remember what they have already received 
under their greatest enjoyments ; but for want of 
doing so, oftentimes their rejoicing ends in tears, and 
their sunshine in a cloud : witness the story of Chris- 
tian at this place. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 273 

When they were come to the place where Mistrust 
and Timorous met Christian to persuade him to go 
back for fear of the lions, they perceived as it were a 
stage, and before it, towards the road, a broad plate, 
with a copy of verses written thereon, and underneath, 
the reason of raising up of that stage in that place 
rendered. The \ r erses were — 

Let him that sees that stage, take heed 

Upon his heart and tongue : 
Lest if he do not, here he speed 

As some have long agone. 

The words underneath these verses were, This stage 
was built to punish such upon, who, through timorous- 
ness or mistrust, shall be afraid to go farther on pil- 
grimage : also on this stage both Mistrust and Timor- 
ous were burnt through the tongue with a hot iron, for 
endeavouring to hinder Christian on his journey. 

Then said Mercy, This is much like to the saying of 
the Beloved,* "What shall be given unto thee, or 
what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue ? sharp 
arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper," (Ps. cxx, 
3, 4.) 

So they went on till they came within sight of the 
lions, (Part i, p. 71.) \ Now Mr. Great-heart w r as a 
strong man, so he was not afraid of a lion : but yet 
when they were come up to the place where the lions 
were, the boys that went before were glad to cringe 
behind, for they were afraid of the lions : so they stept 
back and went behind. At this their guide smiled, and 
said, How now, my boys, do you love to go before when 
no danger doth approach, and love to come behind so 
soon as the lions appear ? 

Now as they went on, Mr. Great-heart drew his 
sword, with intent to make a way for the pilgrims in 

* " Beloved" — The word David signifies beloved. We should be very 
cautious not to speak any thing which may discourage such as seem dis- 
posed to a religious life ; lest we should be found to have abetted that enemy, 
who spares no pains to seduce them back again into die world. Even the 
unbelieving fears and complaints of weak and tempted Christians should be 
repressed before persons of this description : how great then will be die 
guilt of those who stifle their own convictions, and" act contrary to their 
conscience, from fear of reproach or persecution, and then employ them- 
selves in dissuading others from serving God I 



274 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

spite of the lions. Then there appeared one, that it 
seems had taken upon him to back the lions : and he 
said to the pilgrims' guide, What is the cause of your 
coming hither 1 Now the name of that man was Grim,* 
or Bloodyman, because of his slaying- of pilgrims ; and 
he was of the race of the giants. 

Then said the pilgrims' guide, These women and 
children are going on pilgrimage ; and this is the way 
they must go, and go it they shall, in spite of thee and 
the lions. 

Grim. This is not their way, neither shall they go 
therein. I am come forth to withstand them, and to 
that end will back the lions. 

Now, to say the truth, by reason of the fierceness of 
the lions, and of the grim carriage of him that did back 
them, this way had of late lain much unoccupied, and • 
was almost all grown over with grass. 

Then said Christiana, Though the highways have 
been unoccupied heretofore, and though the travellers 
have been made in times past to walk through by- 
paths, it must not be so now I am risen, " Now I am, 
risen a mother in Israel," (Judg. v, 6, 7.) 

Then he swore by the lions but it should : and there- 
fore bid them turn aside, for they should not have pas- 



* ' ' Grim" — It is not very easy to determine the precise idea of the author 
in each of the giants, who assault the pilgrims, and are slain by the con- 
ductor and his assistants. Some have supposed that unbelief is here meant ; 
but Grim, or Bloodyman, seem not to be apposite names for this inward foe ; 
nor can it be conceived, that unbelief should more violently assault those 
who were under the care of a valiant conductor, than it had done the solitary 
pilgrims. I apprehend therefore that this giant was intended for the emblem 
of certain active men, who busied themselves in framing and executing 
persecuting statutes; which was done at this time more violendy than 
before. Thus the temptation to fear man, which at all times assaults the 
believer, when required to make an open profession of his faith, was exceed- 
ingly increased : and, as heavy fines, and severe penalties, in accession to 
reproach and contempt, deterred men from joining themselves in com- 
munion widi dissenting churches, that way was almost unoccupied and 
the travellers went through by-paths, according to the author's sentiments 
on that subject. But the~preaching of the Gospel, by which the ministers 
of Christ wielded the sword of the Spirit overcame this enemy : for the 
example and exhortations of such courageous combatants animated even 
weak believers to overcome their fears, and to act according to their con- 
sciences, leaving the event to God. This seems to have been the author's 
meaning : and perhaps he also intended to encourage his brethren boldly 
to persevere in resisting such persecuting statutes, in confidence of prevail- 
ing for the repeal of them ; by which, as by the death of the giant the pil- 
grims might be freed from additional terror, in acting consistently with their 
avowed principles. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 275 

sage there. But their guide made first his approach 
unto Grim, and laid so heavily on him with his sword, 
that be forced him to retreat. 

Then said he that attempted to back the lions, Will 
you slay me upon mine own ground ? 

Gr.-h. It is the King's highway that we are in, and in 
this way it is that thou hast placed the lions ; but 
these women and these children, though weak, shall 
hold on their way in spite of the lions. And with that 
he gave him again a downright blow, and brought him 
upon his knees. With this blow he also broke his helmet, 
and with the next cut off an arm. Then did the giant 
roar so hideously, that his voice frighted the women ; 
and yet they were glad to see him lie sprawling upon 
the ground. Now the lions were chained, and so of 
themselves could do nothing. Wherefore, when old 
Grim, that intended to back them, was dead, Great- 
heart said to the pilgrims, Come now and follow me, 
and no hurt shall happen to you from the lions. They 
therefore went on, but the women trembled as they 
passed by them ; the boys also looked as if they would 
die, but they all got by without further hurt. 

Now, when they were within sight of the Porter's 
lodge, they soon came up unto it ; but they made the 
more haste after this to go thither, because it is dan- 
gerous travelling there in the night. So when they 
were come to the gate, the guide knocked, and the 
porter cried, Who is there 1 But as soon as the guide 
had said, It is I, he knew his voice, and came down, 
(for the guide had oft before that come thither as a 
conductor of pilgrims.) When he was come down, he 
opened the gate, and seeing the guide standing just 
before it, (for he saw not the women, for they were be- 
hind him,) he said unto him, How now, Mr. Great- 
heart, what is your business here so late at night ? I 
have brought, said he, some pilgrims hither, where, by 
my Lord's commandment, they must lodge: I had 
been here some time ago, had I not been opposed by 
the giant that used to back the lions. But I, after a 
long and tedious combat with him, have cut him off, 
and have brought the pilgrims hither in safety. 

For. Will not you go in and stay till morning? 



276 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Gr.-h. No, I will return to my Lord to-night. 

Chr. Oh, Sir, I know not how to be willing you 
should leave us in our pilgrimage, you have been so 
faithful and so loving to us, you have fought so stoutly 
for us, you have been so hearty in counselling of us, 
that I shall never forget your favour towards us. 

Then said Mercy, that we might have thy com- 
pany to our journey's end ! How can such poor 
women as we hold out in a way so full of troubles as 
this way is, without a friend or defender ? 

Then said James, the youngest of the boys, Pray, 
Sir, be persuaded to go with us and help us, because 
we are so weak, and the w T ay so dangerous as it is. 

Gr.-h. I am at my Lord's commandment : if he shall 
allot me to be your guide quite through, I will wil- 
lingly wait upon you. But here you failed* at first ; 
for when he bid me come thus far with you, then you 
should have begged me of him to have gone quite 
through with you, and he would have granted your 
request. However, at present I. must withdraw ; and 
so, good Christiana, Mercy, and my brave children, 
Adieu. 

Then the porter, Mr. Watchful, asked Christiana of 
her country, and of her kindred : and she said, I came 
from the city of Destruction ; I am a widow woman, 
and my husband is dead : his name was Christian, the 
pilgrim. How ! said the porter, was he your husband ? 
Yes, said she ; and these his children ; and this, (point- 
ing to Mercy,) is one of my town's-women. Then the 
porter rang his bell, as at such time he is w 7 ont, and 
there came to the door one of the damsels, whose 
name was Humble-mind. And to her the porter said, 
Go, tell it within, that Christiana, the wife of Chris- 
tian, and her children, are come hither on pilgrimage. 
She went in, therefore, and told it. But, oh, what 



* " Failed" — We are repeatedly reminded, with great propriety, that we 
ought to be very particular and explicit in all our prayers ; especially in 
every thing pertaining to our spiritual advantage. The removal of faithful 
ministers, or the fear of losing them, may often remind Christians that 
" here they have failed :" they have not sufficiently valued and prayed for 
them ; or, making sure of their continuance from apparent probabilities, 
they have not made that the subject of their peculiar requests, and therefore 
are rebuked by the loss of thein. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 277 

noise for gladness was therein, when the damsel did 
but drop that out of her mouth ! 

So they came with haste to the porter, for Chris- 
tiana stood still at the door. Then some of the most 
grave said unto her, Come in, Christiana ; come in, 
thou wife of that good man ; come in, thou blessed 
woman; come in, with all that are with thee. So she 
went in, and they followed her that were her children 
and her companions. Now when they were gone in, 
they were had into a large room, and bid to sit down : 
so they sat down, and the chief of the house were 
called to see and welcome * the guests. Then they 
came in, and, understanding who they were, did salute 
each other with a kiss, and said, Welcome ye vessels 
of the grace of God, welcome unto us who are your 
faithful friends. 

Now, because it was somewhat late, and because 
the pilgrims were weary with their journey, and also 
made faint with the sight of the fight, and the terrible 
lions, they desired as soon as might be, to prepare to 
go to rest. Nay, said those of the family, refresh 
yourselves with a morsel of meat : for they had pre- 
pared for them a lamb, with the accustomed sauce 
thereto, (Exod. xii, 3.) For the porter had heard be- 
fore of their coming, and had told it to them within. 
So when they had supped, and ended their prayer with 
a psalm, they desired they might go to rest. Bet let 

* "Welcome" — "Angels rejoice over one sinner that repenteth:" and 
all. who truly love the Lord, will gladly welcome such as appear to be true 
believers into their most endeared fellowship : yet there are certain individu- 
als, who, being relate:! to those that have greatly interested their hearts, or 
having Ions been remembered in their prayers, are welcomed with singular 
ioy and satisfaction, and whose profession of faitii animates them in a pecu- 
liar manner. The passover was a prefiguration of the sufferings of Christ, 
and the believer's acceptance of him; of his professed reliance on the 
atoning sacrifice, preservation from wrath, and deliverance from the bond- 
age of Satan, to -set out on his heavenly pilgrimage : and the Lord's supper 
is a commemorative ordinance of a similar import ; representing the body 
of Christ broken for our sins, and his blood shed for us ; our application of 
these blessings to our souls by faith, our profession of this faith, and of love 
to him and his people, influencing us to devoted, self-denying obedience: 
an A the effects which follow from thus " feeding on Christ in onr hearts by 
faidi with thanksgiving," in strengthening us for every conflict and ser- 
vice to which we are called. " The unleavened bread of sincerity and 
truth," and " the bitter herbs" of godly sorrow, deep repentance, mortifi- 
cation of sin, and bearing the cross, accompany the spiritual feast : and 
even render it more relishing to the true believer, as endearing to him Christ 
and his salvation. 



278 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

us, said Christiana, if we may be so bold as to choose, 
be in that chamber * that was my husband's when he 
was here. So they had them up thither, and they all 
lay in a room, (John i, 29.) When they were at rest, 
Christiana and Mercy entered into discourse about 
things that were convenient. 

Chr. Little did I think once, when my husband went 
on pilgrimage, that I should ever have followed him. 

Mer. And you as little thought of lying in his bed, 
and in his chamber to rest, as you do now. 

Chr. And much less did I ever think of seeing his 
face with comfort, and of worshipping the Lord the 
King with him ; and yet now I believe I shall ! 

Mer. Hark, don't you hear a noise ? 

Chr. Yes, 'tis, as I believe, a noise of music, for joy 
that we are here. 

Mer. Wonderful ! Music in the house, music in the 
heart, and music also in heaven, for joy that we are 
here ! 

Thus they talked aw T hile, and then betook themselves 
to sleep. So in the morning, when they were awaked, 
Christiana said to Mercy, What was the matter that 
you did laugh in your sleep to-night 1 I suppose you 
was in a dream. 

Mer. So I was, and a sweet dream it was ; but are 
you sure I laughed ? 

Chr. Yes ; you laughed heartily; but pr'ythee, Mercy, 
tell me thy dream. 

Mer. I was a dreaming that I sat all alone in a soli- 
tary place, and was bemoaning of the hardness of my 
heart. Now I had not sat there long, but methought 
many were gathered about me to see me, and to hear 
what it was that I said. So they hearkened, and I went 
on bemoaning the hardness of my heart. At this, some 
of them laughed at me, some called me fool, and some 
began to thrust me about. With that, methought I 
looked up, and saw one coming with wings towards 



* "Chamber" — A marginal note here says, "Christ's bosom is for all 
pilgrims." The sweet peace arising from calm confidence iu the Saviour, 
the consolations of his Spirit, submission to his will, and the cheerful obedi- 
ence of fervent love, give rest to the soul, as if we were reclining ou bij 
bosom with the beloved disciple, (P. i, p. 80.) 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 279 

me. So he came directly to me, and said, Mercy, 
what aileth thee 1 Now when he had heard me make 
my complaint, he said, Peace be to thee ; he also 
wiped mine eyes with his handkerchief, and clad me 
in silver and gold. He put a chain upon my neck, and 
earrings in mine ears, and a beautiful crown upon my 
head, (Ezek. xvi, 8 — 13.) Then he took me by the 
hand, and said, Mercy, come after me. So he went 
up, and I followed, till we came at a golden gate 
Then he knocked; and, when they within had opened, 
the man went in, and I followed hirn up to a throne, 
upon which one sat, and he said to me, Welcome, 
daughter. The place looked bright and twinkling, like 
the stars, or rather like the sun, and I thought that I 
saw your husband there. So I awoke from my dream. 
But did I laugh? 

Chr. Laugh ! ay, and well you might, to see yourself 
so well. For you must give me leave to tell you, that 
it was a good dream ; and that as you* have begun to 
find the first part true, so you shall find the second at 
last. " God speaks once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth 
it not ; in a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep 
sleep falleth upon men, in slumbering upon the bed," 
(Job xxxiii, 14 — 16.) We need not, when abed, to lie 
awake to talk with God ; he can visit us while we 
sleep, and cause us then to hear his voice. Our heart 
oft-times wakes when we sleep ; and God can speak 
to that, either by words, by proverbs, by signs and simi- 
litudes, as well as if one was awake. 

Mer. Well, I am glad of my dream, for I hope ere 
long to see it fulfilled, to the making me laugh again. 

Chr. I think it is now high time to rise, and to know 
what we must do. 

Mer. Pray, if they advise us to stay awhile, let us 
willingly accept of the proffer. I am the willinger to 



* " As you"— They who feel and lament the hardness of their hearts, 
and earnestly pray ihat they may be humbled, softened, and filled with 
the love of Christ, may be assured that their sorrow shall be turned into 
joy: though they must expect to be ridiculed by such as know not their 
own hearts. The assurance, that the dream should be accomplished, is 

f rounded on tie effects produced upon Mercy's heart ; and there is no 
anger of delusion, when so scriptural an encouragement is inferred even 
from a dream. 



280 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS 



3se 



stay awhile here, to grow better acquainted with these 
maids ; me thinks Prudence, Piety, and Charity have 
very comely and sober countenances. 

Chr. We shall see what they will do. So when they 
were up and ready, they came down, and they asked one 
another of their rest, and if it was comfortable or not. 

Very good, said Mercy; it was one of the best 
night's lodgings that ever I had in my life. 

Then said Prudence and Piety, if you will be per- 
suaded to stay here awhile, you shaD have what the 
house will afford. 

Ay, and that with a very good will, said Charity. So 
they consented, and staid there about a month or above, 
and became very profitable one to another. And, be- 
cause Prudence would see how Christiana had brought 
up her children, she asked leave of her to catechise 
them ; so she gave her free consent. Then she began 
with the youngest, whose name was James. And she 
said, Come James, Canst thou tell me who made thee 1 

Jam. God the Father, God the Son, and God the 
Holy Ghost. 

Prud. Good boy. And canst thou tell who saved thee 1 

Jam. God the Father, God the Son, and God the 
Holy Ghost. 

Prud. Good boy still. But how doth God the Father 
save thee ? 

Jam. By his grace.* 

Prud. How doth God the Son save thee ? 

Jam. By Ins righteousness, and blood, and death, 
and life. 

Prud. And how doth God the Holy Ghost save thee ? 

Jam. By his illumination, by his renovation, and by 
his preservation. 



* " Grace"— Grace, in this connexion, signifies unmerited mercy or fa- 
vour, from which all die blessings of salvation flow; wliile the Father 
freely gave his Son to be our Redeemer, and freely communicates his 
Spirit, through the merits and mediation of the Son, to be our Sanctifier ; 
and thus, with Christ, freely gives all tilings to those who are enabled truly 
to believe in him. The important but much neglected duty of catechising 
children is here very properly inculcated ; without attention to which, 
the minister's labours, both in public preacliing and private instruction, 
will be understood in a very imperfect degree ; and any revival of religion 
that takes place, will probably die with the generation to which it is vouch- 
safed. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 281 

Then said Prudence to Christiana, You are to be 
commended for thus bringing up your children. I sup- 
pose 1 need not ask the rest these questions, since the 
youngest of them can answer them so well. I will 
tnerefore now apply myself to the next youngest. 

Then she said, Come, Joseph, (for his name was 
Joseph,) will you let me catechise you? 

Jos. With all my heart. 

Prud. What is man ? 

Jos. A reasonable creature, made so by God, as my 
brother said. 

Prud. What is supposed by this word, saved ? 

Jos. That man by sin has brought himself into a siate 
of captivity and misery. . 

Prud. What is supposed by his being saved by the 
Trinity ? 

Jos. That sin is so great and mighty a tyrant, that 
none can pull us out of its clutches, but God ; and that 
God is so good and loving to man, as to pull him indeed 
out of this miserable state. 

Prud. What is God's design in saving poor man ? 

Jos. The glorifying of his name, of his grace, and 
justice, &c, and the everlasting happiness of his 
creature. 

Prud. Who are they that must be saved? 

Jos. Those that accept* of his salvation. 

Prud. Good boy, Joseph ; thy mother hath taught 
thee well, and thou hast hearkened to what she has 
said unto thee. 

Then said Prudence to Samuel, (who was the eldest 
son but one,) Come, Samuel, are you willing that I 
should catechise you also? 

Sam. Yes, forsooth, if you please. 



* " Accept" — The young pupil is not here taught to answer systemati- 
cally, " all the elect ;" but practically, " those thataccept of his salvation ;" 
this is perfectly consistent with the other ; but it is suited to instruct and 
encourage the learner, who would be perplexed, stumbled, or misled by 
the other view of the same truth. Thus our Lord observed to his disci- 
ples, " I have many tilings to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them 
now ;" and Paul fed the Corinthians " with milk, and not with meat ; for 
they were not able to bear it. " How beneficial would a portion of the same 
heavenly wisdom prove to die modern friends of evangelical truth ! How 
absurd is it to teach the hardest lessons to the youngest scholars in tha 
school of Christ 1 



282 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Prud. What is heaven ] 

Sam. A place and state most blessed, because God 
dwelleth there. 

Prud. What is hell ? 

Sam. A place and state most woful, because it is the 
dwelling place of sin, the devil, and death. 

Prud. Why wouldest thou go to heaven ? 

Sam. That I may see God, and serve without weari- 
ness ; that I may see Christ, and love him everlast- 
ingly ; that I may have that fulness of the Holy Spirit 
in me, that I can by no means here enjoy. 

Prud. A very good boy, and one that has learned 
well. Then she addressed herself to the eldest, whose 
name was Matthew ; and she said to him, Come, Mat- 
thew, shall I also catechise you 7 

Mat. With a very good will. 

Prud. 1 ask, then, if there was ever any thing that 
had a being antecedent to, or before, God ? 

Mat. No ; for God is eternal ; nor is there any thing, 
excepting himself, that had a being until the beginning 
of the first day: " For in six days the Lord made hea- 
ven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is." 

Prud. What do you think of the Bible ? 

Mat. It is the holy word of God. 

Prud. Is there nothing written therein but what you 
understand 1 

Mat. Yes, a great deal. 

Prud. What do you do when you meet with places 
therein that j-ou do not understand ? 

Mat. I think God is wiser* than I. I pray also that 
he will please to let me know all therein that he knows 
will be for my good. 

Prud. How believe you as touching the resurrection 
of the dead ! 



* " Wiser" — We ought not to think ourselves capable of comprehending 
all the mysteries of revelation, or informed of all thai can be known concern- 
ing them : yet we should not make our incapacity a reason for neglecting 
those parts of Scripture, which we do not at present understand : but, uniting 
humble diligence with fervent prayer, we should wait for farther hght and 
knowledge, in all things conducive to our good. There may be many parts 
of Scripture, which would not be useful to us, if we could understand them ; 
though they have been, are, or will be useful to others : and our inability to 
discover the meaning of these passages may teach us humility, and sub- 
mission to the decisions of our infallible instructor. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 283 

Mat. I believe they shall rise, the same that was 
buried ; the same in nature, though not in corruption. 
And T believe this upon a double account : First, Be- 
cause God has promised it : Secondly, Because he is 
able to perform it. 

Then said Prudence to the boys, You must still 
hearken to your mother, for she can learn you more. 
You must also diligently give ear to what good talk 
you shall hear from others ; for your sakes do they 
speak good things. Observe also, and that with care- 
fulness, what the heavens and the earth do teach you : 
but especially be much in the meditation of that book, 
that was the cause of your fathers becoming a pilgrim. 
I, for my part, my children, will teach you what I can 
while you are here, and shall be glad if you will ask 
me questions that tend to godly edifying. 

Now by that these pilgrims had been at this place 
a week, Mercy had a visitor,* that pretended some good 
will unto her, and his name was Mr. Brisk, a man of 
some breeding, and that pretended to religion: but a 
man that stuck very close to the world. So he came 
once or twice, or more, to Mercy, and offered love 
unto her. Now Mercy was of a fair countenance, and 
therefore the more alluring. Her mind also was, to 
be always busying of herself in doing ; for when she 
had nothing to do for herself, she would be making 
of hose and garments for others, and would bestow 
them upon them that had need. And Mr. Brisk, not 
knowing where or how she disposed of what she made, 
seemed to be greatly taken, for that he found her never 
idle. I will warrant her a good housewife, quoth he 
to himself. 



* " A visitor" — Designing men will often assume an appearance of reli- 
gion, in order to insinuate themselves into the affections of such pious young 
women, as are on some accounts agreeable to them : and thus many are 
drawn into a most dangerous snare. This incident, therefore, is very pro- 
perly introduced, and is replete with instruction. At die same time an 
important intimation is given, concerning the manner in which those who 
are not taken up with the care of a family, may profitably employ their 
tune, adorn the Gospel, and be useful in the church and the community. 
It is much better to imitate Dorcas, who through faith obtained a good 
report, in making garments for the poor, dian to waste time and money in 
frivolous amusements or needless decorations; or even in the more elegant 
aud fashionable accomplishments. 



284 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Mercy then revealed* the business to the maidens 
that were of the house, and inquired of them concern- 
ing him, for they did Jmow him better than she. So 
they told her, that he was a very busy young man, and 
one that pretended to religion ; but was, as they feared, 
a stranger to the power of that which is good. 

Nay then, said Mercy, I will look no more on him : 
for I purpose never to have a clog to my soul. 

Prudence then replied, that there needed no great 
matter of discouragement to be given to him ; for con- 
tinuing so, as she had begun, to do for the poor, would 
quickly cool his courage. 

So the next time he comes he finds her at her old 
work, a making of things for the poor. Then said he, 
What, always at it ? Yes, said she, either for myself 
or for others. And what canst thou earn a day ? quoth 
he. I do these things, said she, that I may be rich in 
good works, laying a good foundation against the time 
to come, that I may lay hold of eternal life, (1 Tim. vi, 
18—19.) Why pry'thee, what dost thou do with them? 
said he. Clothe the naked, said she. With that his 
countenance fell. So he forbore to come at her again. 
And when he was asked the reason why, he said, that 
Mercy was a pretty lass, but troubled with ill con- 
ditions. 

When he had left her, Prudence said, Did I not tell 

* " Revealed" — Young people ought not wholly to follow their own 
Judgment in this most important concern, on which the comfort and useful- 
ness of their whole future lives in a great measure depend: and yet it is 
equally dangerous to advise with improper counsellors. The names of the 
maidens show what kind of persons should be consulted: and, when such 
friends are of opinion that there is danger of a clog instead of a helper in 
the way to heaven, all who love their own souls will speedily determine to 
reject the proposal, however agreeable in all other respects. The apostoli- 
cal rule. " only in the Lord," is absolute ; the most upright and cautious 
may indeed be deceived; but they who neglect to ask, or refuse to take, 
counsel, will be sure to smart for their folly, if they be indeed the children 
of God. An unbelieving partner must be a continual source of anxiety 
and uneasiness, a thorn in the side : and an hinderance to all family reli- 
gion, and die pious education of children, who generally adhere to the 
maxims and practices of the ungodly party. Nothing tends more, than 
euch marriages, to induce a declining state of religion ; or indeed more 
plainly shows that it is already in a very unprosperous state. But, when 
Christians plainly avow their principles, purposes, and rules of conduct, 
they may commonly detect and shake on such selfish pretenders ; while 
the attempts made to injure their characters will do them no material 
detriment, and will render them the more thankful for having escaped tho 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 285 

thee, that Mr. Brisk would soon forsake thee? yea, he 
will raise up an ill report of thee : for, notwithstanding 
his pretence to religion, and his seeming love to mercy, 
yet mercy and he are of tempers so different, that I 
belie ve they will never come together. 

Mer. I might have had husbands before now, though 
I spoke not of it to any; but they were such as did 
not like my conditions, though never did any of them 
find fault with my person. So they and I could not 
agree. 

Prud. Mercy in our days is little set by, any farther 
than as to its name : the practice, which is set forth 
by the conditions, there are but few that can abide. 

Well, said Mercy, if nobody will have me I will die 
a maid, or my conditions shall be to me as a husband : 
for I cannot change my nature : and to have one that 
lies cross to me in this, that I purpose never to admit 
of as long as I live. I had a sister, named Bountiful, 
married to one of these churls : but he and she could 
never agree ; but, because my sister was resolved to 
do as she had begun, that is, to show kindness to the 
poor, therefore her husband first cried her down at the 
cross, and then turned her out of his doors. 

Prud. And yet he was a professor, I warrant you 1 

Mer. Yes, such a one as he was, and of such as the 
world is now full : but I am for none of them all. 

Now Matthew, the eldest son of Christiana, fell sick,* 
and his sickness was sore upon him, for he was much 
pained in his bowels, so that he was with it, at times, 
pulled, as it were, both ends together. There dwelt 
also not far from thence, one Mr. Skill, an ancient and 

* "Fell sick"— Sin, heedlessly or wilfully committed, after the Lord haa 
spoken peace to our souls, often produces great distress long afterwards, 
and sometimes darkness and discouragement oppress the mind, when die 
special cause of them is not immediately recollected : for we have grieved 
the Holy Spirit and he withholds his consolations. In this case we should 
adopt the prayer of Job, " Do not condemn me ; show me wherefore thou 
eontendest with me:" and this inquiry will often be answered by the dis- 
course of skilful ministers, and the faithful admonitions of our fellow 
Christians. "When hopeful professors are greatly cast down, it is not wise 
to administer cordials to them immediately : but to propose such questions 
as may leai to a discovery of the concealed cause of their distress. Thus 
it will often be found, diat they have been tampering with forbidden fruit ; 
which discovery may tend to their humiliation, and produce a like effect 
on those who have neglected their duty, by suffering them to sin without 
warning or reproof 



286 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

well-approved physician. So Christiana desired it, and 
they sent for him, and he came : when he was entered 
the room, and had a little observed the boy, he con- 
cluded that he was sick of the gripes. Then he said 
to his mother, What diet has Matthew of late fed upon ? 
Diet ! said Christiana, nothing- but what is wholesome. 
The physician answered, this boy has been tampering 
with something that lies in his maw undigested, and 
that will not away without means. And I tell you he 
must be purged or else he will die. 

Then said Samuel, Mother, what was that which my 
brother did gather and eat, so soon as we were come 
from the gate that is at the head of this way ? You 
know, that there was an orchard on the left hand, on 
the other side of the wall, and some of the trees hung 
over the wall, and my brother did pluck and did eat. 

True, my child, said Christiana, he did take thereof, 
and did eat ; naughty boy as he was, 1 chid him, and 
yet he" would eat thereof. 

Skill. I knew that he had eaten something that was 
not wholesome food ; and that food, to wit, that fruit, 
is even the most hurtful of all. It is the fruit of Beel- 
zebub's orchard. I do marvel that none did warn you 
of it ; many have died thereof. 

Then Christiana began to cry ; and she said, O 
naughty boy ! and careless mother ! what shall I do 
for my son ? 

SMIL Come, do not be too dejected ; the boy may do 
well again, but he must purge and vomit. 

Chr. Pray, Sir, try the utmost of your skill with him, 
whatever it costs. 

*S'A-:7Z. Nay, I hope it shall be reasonable. So he 
made him a purge, but it was too weak ; it was said 
it was made of the blood of a goat, the ashes of a 
heifer, and with some of the juice of hyssop, &c. (Heb. 
ix, 13—19; x, 1—4.) When Mr. Skill had seen that 
that purge was too weak, he made him one to the pur- 
pose ; it was made " Ex Came * et Sanguine Christi," 

* ' : Ex carne"— To support the allegory, the author gives the physician's 
prescription in Latin ; bin he adds, in the margin, with admirable modesty, 
"The Latin I borrow." rt Without the shedding of blood, mere is no 
remission of sins," or true peace of conscience; "the blood of bulls and 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 237 

(John vi, 5-1—57 ; Heb. ix, 14 :— you know, physicians 
give strange medicines to their patients,) and it was 
made up into pills, with a promise or two, and a pro- 
portionable quantity of salt, (.dark ix, 49.) Now he 
was to take them three at a time, fasting-, in half a 
quarter of a pint of the tears of repentance, (Zech. xii, 
10.) When tins potion was prepared, and brought to 
the boy, he was loath to take it. though torn with the 
gripes, as if he should be pulled in pieces. Come, 
come, said the physician, you must take it. It goes 
against my stomach, said the boy. I must have you 
take it, said his mother. I shall vomit it up again, 
said the boy. Pray, Sir, said Christiana to Mr. Skill, 
ho w does it taste 1 It has no ill taste, said the doctor ; 
and with that she touched one of the pills with the 
tip of her tongue. Oh, Matthew, said she, this potion 
is sweeter than honey. If thou forest thy mother, if 
thou lovest thy brothers, if thou lovest Mercy, if thou 
lovest thy life, take it. So with much ado, after a 
short prayer for the blessing of God upon it, he took it, 
and it wrought kindly with him. It caused him to 
purge, to sleep, and to rest quietly ; it put him into a 
fine heat and breathing sweat, and rid him of his 
gripes. 

So in a little time he got up, and walked about with 
a staff, and would go from room to room, and talk with 
Prudence, Piety, and Charity, of his distemper, and 
how he was healed. 

So when the boy was healed, Christiana asked Mr. 
Skill, saying, Sir, what will content you for your pains, 
and care to me and of my child? And he said, You 
must pay the master of the college of physicians, 

goats cannot take away sin :" nothing, therefore, can bring health and 
cure, in this case, but the "body and blood of Christ," as broken and shed 
for our sins. These blessings are made ours by faidi exercised on the pro- 
mises of God ; die sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit, which seasons our 
words and actions as with salt, always connects with living faith ; and 
godly sorrow, working genuine repentance, is renewed every time we look 
to die Saviour, whom we have pierced by our recent offences, and of whom 
we again seek forgiveness. The natural pride, stoutness, and unbelief of 
our hearts, render us very reluctant to this humiliating method of recover- 
ing oiy peace and spiritual strength ; and this often prolongs our distress ; 
yet nodiing yields more unalloyed comfort, than thus abasing ourselves 
before God. and relyiug on hLs mercy through the atonement and media* 
lion of his beloved Son. 



288 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

according to rules made in that case and provided, 
(Heb. xiii, 11—15.) 

But, Sir, said she, what is this pill good for else ? 

Skill. It is a universal pill; it is good against all 
diseases that pilgrims are incident to ; and when it is 
well prepared, will keep good time out of mind. 

Chr. Pray, Sir, make me up twelve boxes of them ; 
for, if I can get these, I will never take other physic. 

Skill. These pills are good to prevent diseases, as 
well as to cure when one is sick. Yea, I dare say it, 
and stand to it, that if a man will but use this physic 
as he should, it will make him live for ever, (John vi, 
58.) But, good Christiana, thou must give these pills 
no other way* but as I have prescribed ; for if you do, 
they will do no good. So he gave unto Christiana phy- 
sic for herself, and her boys, and for Mercy ; and bid 
Matthew take heed how he eat any more green plums ; 
and kissed liimand went his way. 

It was told you before, that Prudence bid the boys, 
that, if at any time they would, they should ask her 
some questions that might be profitable, and she would 
say something to them. 

Then Matthew, who had been sick, asked her, Why, 
for the most part, physic should be bitter to our pa- 
lates ? 

Prud. To show how unwelcome the word of God, 
and the effects thereof are to a carnal heart. 

Mat. Why does physic, if it does good, purge, and 
cause to vomit ? 

Prud. To show, that the word, when it works ef- 
fectually, cleanseth the heart and mind. For, look, 
what the one doeth to the body, the other doeth to the 
soul. 

Mat. What should we learn by seeing the flame of 
our fire go upwards ? and by seeing the beams and 
sweet influences of the sun strike downwards ? 

Prud. By the going up of the fire we are taught to 

* " No other way" — This hint should be carefully noted. Numbers abuse 
the doctrine of free salvation, by the merits and redemption of Clirist, and 
presume on forgiveness, when they are destitute of genuine repentance, and 
give no evidence of sanctification. But this most efficacious medicine in 
that case will do no good ; or rather die perverse abuse of it will ; 
their guilt, and tend to harden their hearts in sin. 



WITH SCOTTS NOTES, 289 

ascend to heaven by fervent and hot desires. And by 
the sun his sending his heat, beams, and sweet in- 
fluences downwards, we are taught that the Saviour 
of the world, though high, reaches down with his grace 
and love to us below. 

Mat. Where have the clouds their water ? 

Prud. Out of the sea. 

Mat. What may we learn from that 1 

Prud. That ministers should fetch their doctrine 
from God. 

Mat. Why do they empty themselves on the earth 1 

Prud. To show that ministers should give out what 
they know of God to the world 

Mot. Why is the rainbow caused by the sun ? 

Prud. To show that the covenant of God's grace is 
confirmed to us in Christ. 

Mat. Why do the springs come from the sea to us 
through the earth ? 

Prud. To show that the grace of God comes to us 
through the body of Christ. 

Mat. Why do some of the springs rise out of the top 
of high hills 1 

Prud. To show that the Spirit of grace shall spring 
up in some that are great and mighty, as well as in 
many that are poor and low. 

Mat. Why doth the fire fasten upon the candlewick? 

Prud. To show that, unless grace doth kindle upon 
the heart, there will be no true light of life in us. 

Mat. Why is the wick, and tallow, and all, spent to 
maintain the light of the candle ? 

Prud. To show that body, and soul, and all, should 
be at the service of, and spend themselves to maintain 
in good condition, that grace of God that is in us. 

Med. Why doth the pelican pierce her own breast 
with her bill ! 

Prud. To nourish her young ones with her blood, and 
thereby to show that Christ the blessed so loveth his 
young, his people, as to save them from death by his 
blood. 

Mat. What may one learn by hearing of the cock 
crow 1 

Prud. Learn to remember Peter's sin and Peter's 
I 



29a THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

repentance. The cock's crowing shows also, that daj- 
is coming on ; let then the crowing of the cock put 
thee in mind of that last and terrible day of judgment. 

Now about this time their month was out ; where- 
fore they signified to those of the house, that it was 
convenient for them to up and be going. Then said 
Joseph to his mother. It is convenient that you forget 
not to send to the house of Mr. Interpreter, to pray him 
to grant that Mr. Great-heart should be sent unto us, 
that he may be our conductor the rest of the way. 
Good boy, said she, 1 had almost forgot. So she drew 
up a petition,* and prayed Mr. Watchful, the porter, to 
send it by some fit man, to her good friend Mr. Inter- 
preter ;. who, when it was come, and he had seen the 
contents of the petition, said to the messenger, Go tell 
them that I will send him. 

When, the family, where- Christiana was, saw that 
they had a purpose to go forward, they called the 
whole house together, to give thanks to their King, 
for sending of them such profitable guests as these. 
Which done, they said unto Christiana, And shall we 
not show thee something, according as our custom is 
to do to pilgrims, on which thou mayest meditate when 
thou art on the way ? So they took Christiana, her 
children, and Mercy, into the closet, and showed them 
one of the apples that Eve ate of, and that she also did 
give to her husband, and that for the eating of which 
they were both turned out of Paradise ; and asked her 
What she thought that was ? Then Christiana said, It is 
food or poison, I know not which. So they opened f the- 
matter to her, and she held up her hands and won- 
dered, (Gen. iii, 1—6 :. Rom. vii, 24.) 



* " Petition"— This may be applied to the case of persons who are 
Unavoidably removed from those places, where they first made an open- 
profession of the faith. The vigilant pastor, who can no longer watch 
fur their souls, will earnestly recommend them to the care of some other 
minister, and join widi them in prayer, that the same faithful services, 
or better, may be rendered them by some other servant of their common 
Lord. 

* " Opened"— The nature of the first transf-ass'ion, the ambiguous insinu- 
ations by which the tempter seduced Eve,. ant. by her Adam ; the motives 
from which they ate the forbidden fruit, and the dreadful disappointment 
that followed ; with all the aggravations and consequences of that most 
prolific offence, which contained in it, as in miniature and embryo, all 
wiure sins, are very instructive to the pious mind.. For the eueuiy stilt 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 291 

Then they had her to a place, and showed her 
Jacob's ladder.* Now at that time there were some 
angels ascending upon it. So Christiana looked and 
looked to see the angels go up ; so did the rest of the 
company, (Gen. xxviii, 12.) Then they were going into 
another place, to show them something else ; but 
James said to his mother, Pray bid them stay a little 
longer, for this is a curious sight. So they turned 
again, and stood feeding their eyes on this so pleasant 
a prospect. After this they had them into a place, 
where there did hang up a golden anchor, so they bid 
Christiana take it down ; for, said they, you shall have 
it with you, for it is of absolute necessity that you 
should, that you may lay hold of that within the veil, 
and stand steadfast in case you should meet with 
turbulent weather : so they were glad thereof, (Joel 
iii, 16 ; Heb. vi, 19.) Then they took them, and had 
them to the mount upon which Abraham our father had 
offered up Isaac his son, and showed them the altar, 
the wood, the fire, and the knife ; for they remain to 
be seen to this very day. When they had seen it, 
they held up their hands, and blessed themselves, and 
said, Oh what a man for love to his Master, and for 
denial to himself, was Abraham ! After they had 
showed them all these things, Prudence took them 
into a dining-room, where stood a pair of excellent 
virginals ; so she played upon them, and turned what 
she had showed them into this excellent song, saying, 

proceeds against us according to the same general plan ; suggesting hard 
thoughts of God, doubts about the restrictions and threatenings of his word, 

Eroud desires of independence or useless knowledge, hankerings after for- 
idden indulgence, and hopes of enjoying die pleasures of sin, without feel- 
ing the punishment denounced against transgressors. 

* " Ladder"— Christ, in his person and offices is the medium of commu- 
nication between heaven and earth, between God and man ; by him sinners 
come to God with acceptance, and God dwells with them and is glorified ; 
through him they present dieir worship and services, and receive supplies 
of all heavenly blessings; and for his sake angels delight in "ministering 
to die heirs of "salvation," as instruments of his providential care over diem 
and all their concerns. This was represented or typified by Jacob's ladder. 
The hope of glory, or of the fulfilment of all God's promises to our souls, is 
the golden or precious anchor, by which we must be kept steadfast in die 
faith, and encouraged to abide in our proper station, amidst the storms of 
temptation, affliction, and persecution. This it will certainly effect; pro- 
» vided it be genuine and living, grounded on die word of God, springing from 
faith in his Son, warranted by "the experience of his grace, accompanied by 
prevailing desires of a holy felicity, in the presence, favour, and service of 
the Lord. 



292 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Eve's apple we have showed you ; 

Of that be you aware ; 
You have seen Jacob's ladder too, 

Upon which angels are ; 
An anchor yon received have ; 

Bat let not this suffice. 
Until with Abraham you have gave 

Your best of sacrifice. 

Now about this time one knocked at the door; so 
the porter opened, and, behold, Mr. Great-heart was 
there ! But when he was come, in, what joy was 
there ! for it came now fresh again into their minds, 
how but awhile ago he had slam old Grim Bloodyman, 
the giant, and had delivered them from the lions. 

Then said Mr. Great-heart to Christiana and to 
Mercy, My Lord has sent each of you a bottle of wine, 
and also some parched corn, together with a couple of 
pomegranates ; he also sent the boys some figs and 
raisins ; to refresh you in your way. 

Then they addressed themselves to, their journey; 
and Prudence and Piety went along with them. When 
they came at the gate, Christiana asked the porter, if 
any of late went by. He said, No, only one, some 
time since, who also told me, that of late there had 
been a great robbery committed on the King's.highway, 
as you go ; but, said he, the thieves are taken, and 
will shortly be tried for their lives. Then Christiana 
and Mercy were afraid ; but Matthew said, Mother, 
fear nothing, as long as Mr. Great-heart is to go with 
us, and to be our conductor. 

Then said Christiana to the porter, Sir, I am much 
obliged to you for all the kindnesses that you have 
showed to me since I came hither ; and also that you 
have been so loving and kind to my children ; I know 
not how to gratify your kindness ; wherefore, pray, as 
a token of my respects to you, accept of this small 
mite ; so she put a gold angel in his hand ; and he 
made her a low obeisance, and said, Let thy garments 
be always white, and let thy head want no ointment. 
Let Mercy live and not die, and let not her works be 
few. And to the boys he said, Do you flee youthful 






WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 293 

lusts, and follow after godliness with them that are 
grave and wise ; so shall you put gladness into your 
mother's heart, and obtain praise of all that are sober- 
minded. So they thanked the porter, and departed. 

Now I saw in my dream, that they went forward un- 
til they were come to the brow of the hill, where Piety, 
bethinking herself, cried out, Alas ! Ihave forgot what 
I intended to bestow upon Christiana and her com- 
panions ; I will go back and fetch it. So she ran and 
fetched it. When she wSs gone, Christiana thought 
she heard in a grove, a little way off on the right hand, 
a most curious melodious note, with words much like 
these : — 

" Through all my life thy favour is 
So frankly show'd to me, 

That in thy house for evermore 
My dwelling-place shall be." 

And listening still she thought she heard another 
answer it, saying, 

" For why ? The Lord our God is good, 

His mercy is for ever sure ; 
His truth at all times firmly stood, 

And shall from age to age endure." 

So Christiana asked Prudence what it ^vas that 
made those curious notes. They are, said she, our 
country birds ; they sing these notes but seldom, 
except it be at the spring, when the flowers appear, 
and the sun shines warm, and then you may hear 
them all the day long. I often, said she, go to hear 
them ; we also oft-times keep them tame in our house, 
They are very fine company for us when we are melan- 
choly; also they make the woods, and groves, and 
solitary places, places desirous to be in, (Sol. Song ii, 
11, 12.) 

By this time Piety was come again ; so she said to 
Christiana, Look here, I have brought thee a scheme 
of all those things that thou hast seen at our house, 
upon which thou mayest look when thou findest thy- 
self forgetful, and call those things again to remem- 
brance, for thy edification and comfort. 



294 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Now they began to go down the hill to the valley of 
Humiliation. It was a steep hill, and the way was 
slippery ; but they were very ^areful ; so they got 
down pretty well. When they were down in the val- 
ley, Piety said to Christiana, This is the place where 
your husband met with the foul fiend Apollyon, and 
where they had the great fight that they had ; I know 
you cannot but have heard thereof. But be of good 
courage, as long as you have here Mr. Great-heart to 
be your guide and conductor, we hope you will fare 
the better. So when these two had committed the 
pilgrims unto the conduct of their guide, he went for- 
ward, and they went after.- 

-Then said Mr: Great-heart, We need not be so afraid 
of this valley, for here is nothing to hurt us, unless we 
procure it ourselves. It is true, Christian did here 
meet with Apollyon, with whom he had also a sore 
combat ; but that fra)' was the fruit of those slips* that 
he got in his going down the hill ; for they that get 
slips there, must look for combats here, (P. i, p. 93 — 96.) 
And hence it is that this valley has got so hard a 
name. For the common people, when they hear that 
some frightful thing has befallen such a one, in such 
a place, are of opinion that that place is haunted with 

* " Slips"— As the author here alluded to some particulars in his own 
experience, a more explicit account of these slips would have been very 
interesting and instructive ; but as it is, we can only conjecture his mean- 
ing. He probably alluded to some erroneous conclusions, which he had 
formed, concerning the measure of the Lord's dealings with his people, and 
the nature of their situation in this world. Having therefore obtained peace 
and comfort, and enjoyed sweet satisfaction in communion with his bre- 
thren, he expected the continuance of this happy frame, and considered it 
as the evidence of his acceptance ; so that afflictions and humiliating dis- 
coveries of the evils of his heart, by interrupting his comforts, induced 
him to conclude that his past experience was a delusion, and that God 
was become his enemy : and this unscriptural way of judging concerning 
his state seems to have made way for the dark temptations that followed. 
Were it not for such mistakes, humiliating dispensations and experiences 
would not have any necessary connexion with terror ; and they would give 
less occasion to temptations than prosperity and comfort do ; while a lowly 
condition is exempted from the numberless snares, incumbrances, and 
anxieties of a more exalted station ; and humility is the parent of patience, 
meekness, and contentment, thankfulness, and every holy disposition that 
can enrich and adorn the soul. A far greater proportion of believers are 
found in inferior circumstances, than among the wealthy ; and they who 
are kept low commonly thrive the best, and are most simple and diligent. 
Without poverty of spirit we cannot possess " the unsearchable riches of 
Christ;" and more promises are made to the humble, than to any other 
character whatsoever. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. £95 

•some foul fiend, or evil spirit ; when, alas ! it is for the 
fruit of their doing, that such tilings do befal them 
there. 

This valley of Humiliation is of itself as fruitful a 
place as any the crow flies over ; and I am persuaded, 
if we could hit upon it, we might find somewhere here- 
about something that might give us an account, why 
Christian was so hardly beset in this place. 

Then James said to his mother, Lo, yonder stands a 
pillar, andwit looks as if something was written there- 
on; let us* go and see what it is. So they went, and 
found there written, Let Christian's slips, before he 
came hither, and the burthen that he met with in this 
place, be a warning to those that come after. Lo, said 
their guide, did 1 not tell you that there was something 
hereabouts that would give intimation of the reason 
why Christian was so hard beset in this place. Then, 
turning to Christiana, he said, No disparagement to 
Christian, more than to many others whose hap and lot 
it was. For it is easier going up than down this lull, 
and that can be said but of few hills in all these parts 
of the world. But we will leave the good man, he is 
at rest, he also had a brave victory over his enemy; 
let Him grant that dwelleth above, that we fare no 
worse, when we come to be tried, than he ! 

But we will come again to this valley of Humilia- 
tion. It is the best and most fruitful piece of ground 
in all these parts. It is a fat ground ; and, as you see, 
consisteth much in meadows : and if a man was to 
come here in the summer-time,* as we do now, if he 
knew not any thing before thereof, and if he also de- 
lighted himself in the sight of his eyes, he might see 
that which would be delightful to him. Behold, how 

* " Summer time" — The consolations of humble believers, even in their 
lowest abasement, when favoured by the exhilarating and fertilizing beams 
of the Sim of Righteousness, are represented under this emblem. The 
lilies are the harmless and iioly disciples of Christ who adorn a poor and 
obscure condition of life ; and who are an ornament to religion, being clothed 
with humility. Many grow rich in faith and good works in retirement and 
obscurity ; and become averse, even at the call of duty, to emerge from it, 
lest any advancement should lead diem into temptation, stir up their pride, 
or expose them to envy and contention. Perhaps the shepherd's boy may 
refer to the obscure but quiet station of some pastors over small congrega- 
tions, who live almost unknown to their brethren, but are in a 
useful, and very comfortable. 



296 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 



green this valley is ; also how beautiful with lilies, 
(Sol. Song ii, 1 ; James iv, 6 ; 1 Pet. v, 5.) I have also 
known many labouring men that have got good estates 
in this valley of Humiliation : (for " God resisteth the 
proud ; but giveth more grace to the humble ;") for in- 
deed it is a very fruitful soil, and doth bring forth by 
handfuls. Some also have wished, that the next way 
to their Father's house were here, that they might be 
troubled no more with either hills or mountains to go 
over : but the way is the way, and there is an end. 

Now- as they were going along, and tanting, they 
spied a boy feeding his father's sheep. The boy was 
in very mean clothes, but of a fresh and well-favoured 
countenance ; and as he sat by himself he sung. Hark, 
said Mr. Great-heart, to what the shepherd's boy saith: 
so they hearkened, and he said, 



. 



He that is down, needs fear no fall ; 

He that is low, no pride : 
He that is humble ever shall 

Have God to be his guide. 
I am content with what I have, 

Little be it or much : 
And, Lord, contentment still I crave, 

-Because thou savest such. 
Fullness to such a burthen is 

That go on pilgrimage : 
Here little, and hereafter bliss, 

Is best from age to age. (Heb. xiii, 5.) 

Then said the guide, Do you hear him 1 I will dare 
to say, this boy lives a merrier life, and wears more 
of the herb called heart's-ease in his bosom, than he 
that is clad in silk and velvet. But we will proceed 
in our discourse. 

In this valley our Lord formerly had his country 
house ;* he loved much to be here : he loved also to 

* " Country bouse"— Our Lord chose retirement, poverty, and an obscure 
station, as the rest and delight of his own mind ; as remote from bustle and 
contention, and favourable to contemplation and devotion : so that his 
appearance in a public character, and in crowded scenes, for the good of 
mankind and the glory of the Father, was a part of his self-denial, in 
which " he pleased not himself." Indeed there is a peculiar congeniality 
between a lowly mind and a lowly condition : and as much violence isdone- 






WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 297 

^valk in these meadows, and he found the air was plea- 
sant. Besides, here a man shall be free from the noise 
and from the hurryings of this life : all states are full 
of noise and confusion, only the valley of Humiliation 
is that empty and solitary place. Here a man shall 
not be let and hindered in his contemplation, as in 
other places he is apt to be! This is a valley that 
nobody walks in, but those that love a pilgrim's life. 
And though Christian had the hard hap to meet with 
Apollyon, and to enter with him a brisk encounter ; yet 
I must tell you, that in former times men have met 
with angels here, have found pearls here, and have in 
this place found the words of life, (Hos. xii, 4, 5.) 

Did I say our Lord had here in former days his 
country-house, and that he loved here to walk? I will 
add, in this place, and to the people that live and trace 
these grounds, he has left a yearly revenue, to be 
faittifully paid them at certain seasons for their main- 
tenance by the way, and for their further encourage- 
ment to go on their pilgrimage. 

Now, as they went on, Samuel said to Mr. Great- 
heart, Sir, I perceive that in this valley my father and 
Apollyon had their battle ; but whereabout was the 
fight? for I perceive this valley is large. 

Gr.-h. Your father had the battle with Apollyon at- 
a place yonder before us, in a narrow passage, just be- 
yond* Forgetful Green. And, indeed, that place is the 
most dangerous place in all these parts : for if, at any 
time pilgrims meet with any brunt, it is when they 
forget what favours they have received, and how un- 
worthy they are of them. This is the place also, where 

to the inclinations of the humble, when they are rendered conspicuous and 
advanced to high stations, as to those of the haughty, when they are thrust 
down into obscurity and neglect. Other men seem to be banished into this 
valley ; but the poor in spirit love to walk in it : and, though some believers 
here struggle with distressing temptations, others in passing through it 
enjoy much communion with God. 

* " Beyond" — When consolations and privileges betray us into forgetful- 
ness of our entire unworthiness of such special favours, humiliating dispen- 
sations will commonly ensue, and these sometimes reciprocally excite 
murmurs and forgetfulness of past mercies. Thus Satan gains an oppor- 
tunity of assaulting the soul with dreadful temptations : and, while at one 
moment hard thoughts of God, or doubts concerning the truth of his word, 
are sdggested to our minds, at the next we may be affrighted by our own 
dreadful rebellion and ingratitude, prompted to condemn ourselves as hypo- 
crites, and almost driven to despair. 

12 13* 



29S THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

others have been hard put to it. But more of the plac© 
when we are come to it; for I persuade myself, that to- 
this day there remains either some sign of the battle, 
or some monument to testify that such a battle there 
was fought. 

Then said Mercy, I think I am a* well in this valley 
as I have been any wheie else in all our journey: the 
place, methinks, suits with my spirit. I love to be in 
such places where there is no rattling with coaches, 
nor rumbling with wheels : methinks, here one may, 
without much molestation, be thinking what he is, 
whence he came, what he has done, and to what the 
King has called him : here one may think, and break at 
heart, and melt in one's spirit, until one's eyes become 
* as the fish-pools of Heshbon." They that go rightly 
through this " valley of Baca," make it " a well ; the 
rain," that God sends down from heaven upon them 
that are here, " also filleth the pools." This valley is 
that from whence also the King will give to them their 
vineyards, (Sol. Song vii, 4; Ps. lxxxiv, 5 — 7; Hos. li, 
15;) and they that go through it shall sing as Christian 
did, for all he met with Apollyon. 

It is true, said their guide, I have gone through this 
valley many a time, and never was better than when 
here. 1 have also been a conductor to several pil- 
grims, and they have confessed the same. " To this 
man will I look," (saith the King,) ." even to him that 
is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and that tremble th at 
my word." ( 

Now they were come to the place where the afore- 
mentioned battle was fought. Then said the guide to 
Christiana, her children, and Mercy, This is the place: 
on this ground Christian stood, and up there came 
Apollyon against him : and, look,* did I not tell you, 
here is some of your husband's blood upon these stones 
to this day: behold, also, how here and there are yet 
to be seen upon the place some of the shivers of Apol- 



* ".And look"— We engirt carefully to study the records left us of the 
temptations, conflicts, faith, patience, and victories of former believers; 
we should mark weli what wounds they received, and by what misconduct 
they were occasioned, that we may watch and pray lest we fall in* like 
• : we ought carefully to observe, how they successfully repelled 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 299 

lyon's broken darts : see also, how they did beat the 
ground with their feet as they fought, to make good 
their places against each other ; how also, with their 
by-blows, they did split the very stones in pieces : 
verily Christian did here play the man, and showed 
himself as stout as Hercules could, had he been there, 
even he himself. When. Apollyon was beat, he made 
his retreat to the next valley, that is called the valley 
of the Shadow of Death, unto which we shall come 
anon. Lo, yonder also stands a monument, on which 
is engraven the battle, and Christian' s victory, to his 
fame throughout all ages. 

So, because it stood just on the way-side before 
them, they stepped to it, and read the writing, which,, 
word for word, was this — 

Hard by here was a battle fought, 

Most strange, and yet most true ; 
Christian and Apollyon sought 

Each other to subdue. 
The man so bravely play'd the man, 

He made the fiend to fly ; 
Of which a monument I stand, 

The same to testify. 

When they had passed by this place, they came upon 
the borders of the Shadow* of Death, and this valley 

the various assaults of the tempter, that we may learn to resist him, stead- 
fast in the faith : and, in general, their triumphs should animate us to "put 
on," and keep on, "the whole armour of God, that we may be enabled 
to withstand in the evil day." On the oilier hand, such as have been ren- 
dered victorious should readily speak of their experiences among those that 
fear God, that they may be cautioned, instructed, and encouraged by their 
example. , 

* " Shadow" — The meaning of this valley hath been stated in the notes 
on the first part of the work ; and the interpretation there given is here 
confirmed. As it relates chiefly to the influence, which " the prince of the 
power of the air" possesses over the imagination ; it must vary exceedingly, 
according to the constitution, animal spirits, health, education, and the 
strength of mind or judgment of different persons. They, who are happily 
incapable of understanding either the allegory or the explanation, should 
bewr.re of despising or condemning such as have been thus harrassed. And, 
on the other hand, these should take care not to consider such temptations 
as proofs of spiritual advancement ; or to yield to them, as if they were 
essential to maturity of grace and experience ; by which means Satan often 
obtains dreadful advantages. It is most advisable for tempted persons to 
consult some able judicious minister, or compassionate and established 
Christian, whose counsel and prayers may be singularly useful in this case ; 
observing the assistance which Great-heart gave to the pilgrims, in passing 
through the valley. 



300 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

was longer than the other ; a place also most strangely 
haunted with evil things, as many are able to testify : 
but these women and children went the better through 
it, because they had day-light, and because Mr. Great- 
heart was their conductor. 

When they were entered upon this valley, they 
thought that they heard a groaning, as of dead men; a 
very great groaning. They thought also that they did 
hear words of lamentation, spoken as of some in ex- 
treme torment. These things made the boys to quake, 
the women also looked pale and wan ; but their guide 
bid them be of good comfort. 

So they went on a little farther, and they thought 
that they felt the ground begin to shake under them, 
as if some hollow place was there ; they heard also a 
kind of hissing, as of serpents, but nothing as yet ap- 
peared. Then said the boys, Are we not yet at the end 
of this doleful place ? But the guide also bid them be 
of good courage, and Look well to their feet, lest haply, 
said he, you be taken in some snare. 

Now James began to be sick, but I think the cause 
thereof was fear : so his mother gave him some of that 
glass of spirits that she had given her at the Inter- 
preter's house, and three of the pills that Mr. Skill had 
prepared, and the boy began to revive. Thus they 
went on, till they came to about the middle of the 
valley; and then Christiana said, Methinks I see some- 
thing yonder upon the road before us ; a thing, of a 
shape such as I have not seen. Then said Joseph, 
Mother, what is it ? An ugly thing, child ; an ugly 
thing, said she. But, mother, what is it like ? said he. 
'Tis like, I cannot tell what, said she. And now it is 
but a little way off. Then said she, It is nigh. 

Well, said Mr. Great-heart, Let them that are most 
afraid, keep close to me. So the fiend came on, and 
the conductor met it ; but when it was just come to 
him, it vanished to all their sights ; then remembered 
they what had been said some time ago ; " Resist the 
devil, and he will flee from you/' 

They went therefore on, as being 'a little refreshed ; 
but they had not gone far, before Mercy, looking be- 
hind her, saw as she thought, something almost like a 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 301 

lion,* and it came a great padding pace after ; and it 
had a hollow voice of roaring ; and at every roar that 
it gave it made the valley echo, and all their hearts to 
ache, save the heart of him that was their guide. So 
it came up, and Mr. Great-heart Avent behind, and put 
the pilgrims all before him. The lion also came on 
apace, and Mr. Great-heart addressed himse]f to give 
him battle. But when he saw that it was determined 
that resistance should be made, he also drew back, 
and came no farther, (1 Pet. v, 8.) 

Then they went on again, and their conductor did go 
before them, till they came at a place where was cast 
up a pit the whole breadth of the way ; and, before 
they could be prepared to go over that, a great mist 
and a darkness fell upon them, so that they could not 
see. Then said the pilgrims, Alas ! now what shall 
we do ? But their guids made answer, Fear not, stand 
still, and see what an end will be put to this also. So 
they staid there, because their path was marred. They 
then also thought they did hear more apparently the 
noise and rushing of the enemies ; the fire also, and 
smoke of the pit was much easier to be discerned. 
Then said Christiana to Mercy, Now I see what my 
poor husband went through ; I have heard much of this 
place, but I never was here before now : poor man ! 
he went here, all alone, in the night : he had night 
almost quite through the way : also these fiends were 
busy about him, as if they would have torn him in 
pieces. Many have spoke of it, but none tell what the 
valley of the Shadow of Death should mean until they 
come in themselves. " The heart knows its own bit- 



* " A lion" — Whatever attempt Satan may make to terrify the believer, 
resolute resistance by faith in Christ will drive him away ; but if fear induce 
men to neglect the means of grace, he will renew his assaults on the imagi- 
nation, whenever they attempt to pray, read the Scripture, or attend on 
any duty, till for a time, or finally, they give up their religion. In this 
case therefore, determined perseverance in opposition to every terrifying 
suggestion is our only safety. Yet sometimes temptations may be so mul* 
tiplied and varied, that it may seem impossible to proceed any farther, and 
the mind of the harrassed believer is enveloped in confusion and dismay, a* 
if an horrible pit were about to swallow him up, or the prince of darkness 
to seize upon him. But the counsel of some experienced friend or minister, 
exciting confidence in the power, mercy, and faithfulness of God, ana 
encouraging him to " pray without ceasing," will at length make way &r 
his deliverance. 

13 



302 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

terness ; a stranger intermeddleth not with its joy." 
To be here is a fearful thing. 

Gr.-h. This is like doing business in great waters, or 
like going down into the deep ; this is like being in the 
heart of the sea, and like going down to the bottoms 
of the mountains ; now it seems as if the earth, with 
its bars, were about us for ever. " But let them that 
walk in darkness, and have no light, trust in the name 
of the Lord, and stay upon their God." For my part, 
as Ihave told you already, I have gone often through 
this valley; and have been much harder put to it 
than I now am ; and yet you see I am alive. I would 
not boast, for that I am not mine own Saviour. But I 
trust we shall have a good deliverance. Come, pray 
for light to him that can lighten our darkness, and 
that can rebuke, not only these, but all the Satan's 
in hell. 

So they cried and pra3*ed, and God sent light and de- 
liverance ; for there was now no let in their way, no 
not there where but now they were stopt with a pit. 
Yet they were not got through the valley ; so they 
went on still, and beheld great stinks and loathsome 
**pel3s, to the great annoyance of them. Then said 
Mercy to .Christiana, There is not such pleasant bemg 
here as at the gate, or at the Interpreter's, or at the 
house where we lay last 

O but,* said one of the boys, it is not so bad to go 
through here, as it is to abide here always ; and, for 
aught I know, one reason why we must go this way 
to the house prepared for us is, that our home might 
be made the sweeter to us. 

Well said, Samuel, quoth the guide, thou hast now 
spoke like a man. Why, if ever I get out here again, 
said the boy, I think I shall prize light and good way, 

* " but"— Should any one by hearing the believer say, " The sorrows 
of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me." be tempted 
to avoid all religious duties, company, and reflections, lest lie should experi- 
ence similar terrors, let him well weigh this observation. It is not so bad to 
So through here, as to abide here always. Nothing can be more absurd 
ian to neglect religion, lest the fear of hell should discompose a man' 
mind, when such neglect exposes him to the eternal endurance of it; 
whereas the short taste of distress, which may be experienced by the tempted 
believer, will make redemption more precious, and render peace, coinlbrl 
and heaven, at last doubly delightful. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 303 

better than ever I did in all my life. Then said the 
guide, We shall be out by-and-by. 

So on they went, and Joseph said, Cannot we see to 
the end of this valley as yet ? Then said the guide, 
Look to * your feet, for we shall presently be among 
snares. So they looked to their feet, and went on ; 
but were troubled much with the snares. Now when 
they were come among the snares, they spied a man 
cast into the ditch on the left hand, with his flesh all 
rent and torn. Then said the guide, that is one Heed- 
less, that was going this way ; he has lain there a 
great while. There was one Take-heed with him 
when he was taken and slain, but he escaped their 
hands. You cannot imagine how many are killed 
hereabouts, and yet men are so foolishly venturous, as 
to set out lightly on pilgrimage, and to come without 
a guide. Poor Christian, it was a wonder that he here 
escaped! but he was beloved of his God : also he had 
a good heart of his own, or else he could never have 
clone it, (Part i. p. 97.) 

Now they drew towards the end of the way ; and 
just there, where Christian had seen the cave when 
he went by, out thence came forth Maul, t a giant. 

* " Look to" — The discouragement of dark temptations is not so formi- 
dable in the judgment of experienced Christians, as the snares connected 
with them ; for, while numbers renounce their profession to get rid of their 
disquietude, many are seduced into some false doctrine that may sanction 
negligence, and quiet their consciences by assenting to certain notions, 
without regarding the state of their hearts, or what passes in their experi- 
ence ; and others are led to spend all their time in company, or even to 
dissipate the gloom by engaging in worldly amusements, because retire- 
ment exposes them to these suggestions. In short, the enemy endeavours to 
terrify the professor, that he may drive him away from God, entangle him 
in heresy, or draw him into sin, in order to destroy his soul, or at^ least ruin 
his credit and prevent his usefulness. But circumspection and prayer con- 
stitute our best preservative ; through which, they who take heed to their 
steps escape, while the heedless are taken and destroyed, for a warning to 
those that come after. 

t " Maul"— This giant came out of the cave, where Pope and Pagan 
had resided. He is therefore the emblem of those formal superstitious teach- 
ers, and those speculating moralists, who in protestant countries have too 
generally succeeded die Romish priests and the heathen philosophers, in 
Keeping men ignorant of the way of salvation, and in spoiling by their 
sophistry such as seem to be seriously disposed. These persons often repre- 
sent faithful ministers, who draw oft" their auditors, by preaching " repent- 
ance towards God, aud faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ," as robbers 
and kidnappers ; they terrify many (especially when they have the power 
of enforcing penal statutes) from professing or hearing the Gospel, and 
acting according to their consciences ; and they put the faith of God's ser- 
vants to a severe trial. Yet perseverance, patience, and prayer, will, obtain 



304 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

This Maul did use to spoil young pilgrims with sophis- 
try; and he called Great-heart by his name, and said 
unto him, How many times have you been forbidden to 
do these things 1 Then said Mr. Great-heart, What 
tilings 1 What things ! quoth the giant ; you know 
what things ! but I will put an end to your trade. But 
pray, said Mr. Great -heart, before we fall to it, let us 
understand wherefore we must fight. (Now the women 
and children stood trembling, and knew not what to 
do.) Quoth the giant, You rob the country, and rob it 
with the worst of thieves. These are but generals, 
said Mr. Great-heart ; come to particulars, man. 

Then said the giant, Thou practisest the craft of a 
kidnapper ; thou gatherest up women and children, and 
earnest them into a strange country, to the weakening 
of my master's kingdom. But. now Great -heart replied, 
I am a servant of the God of heaven ; my business is 
to persuade sinners to repentance ; I am commanded 
to do my endeavour to turn men, women, and children, 
" from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan 
to God ;" and if this be indeed the ground of thy quar- 
rel, let us fall to it as soon as thou wilt. 

Then the giant. came up, and Mr. Great-heart went 
to meet him : and as he went he drew his sword ; but 
the giant had a club.* So without more ado, they fell 
to it, and at the first blow the giant struck Mr. Great- 
heart down upon one of his knees ;' with that the 
women and children cried: so Mr. Great-heart, re- 
covering himself, laid about him in a full lusty manner, 
and gave the giant a wound in his arm ; that he fought 
for the space of an hour, to that height of heat, that 
the breath came out of the giant's nostrils, as the heat 
doth out of a boiling caldron. 



the victory ; and they that are strong will be instrumental in animating the 
feeble to go on their way rejoicing and praising God. But though these 
enemies may be harried, disabled, or apparently slain, it will appear that 
they have left a posterity on earth to revile, injure, and oppose the spiritual 
worshippers of God in every generation. 

* " Club" — This seems to mean the secular arm, or power, by which 
opposers of the Gospel are generally desirous of enforcing their arguments 
and persuasions. " We have a law, and by our law he ought to die :'* 
this decision, like a heavy club, seems capable of bearing all down before 
it ; nor can any withstand its force, but those who rely on him that is stronger 
than all. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 305 

Then they sat down to rest them, but Mr. Great- 
heart betook himself to prayer ; also the women and 
children did nothing but sigh and cry all the time that 
the battle did last. 

When they had rested them, and taken breath, they 
both fell to it again; and Mr. Great-heart, with a full 
blow, fetched the giant down to the ground. Nay, hold, 
let me recover, quoth he : so Mr. Great-heart let him 
fairly get up. So to it they went again, and the giant 
missed but little of breaking Mr. Great-heart's scull 
with his club. 

Mr. Great-heart seeing that, runs to him in the full 
heat of his spirit, and pierced him under the fifth rib ; 
with that the giant began to faint, and could hold up 
his club no longer. Then Mr. Great -heart seconded his 
blow, and smote the head of the giant from Ins shoul- 
ders. Then the women and children rejoiced, and Mr. 
Great-heart also praised God for the deliverance he 
had wrought. 

When this was done, they among them erected a 
pillar, and fastened the giant's head thereon, and wrote 
under it in letters, that passengers might read : 

He that did wear this head, was one 

That pilgrims did misuse ; 
He stopp'd their way, he spared none, 

But did them all abuse : 
Until that I, Great-heart, arose, 

The pilgrim's guide to be ; 
Until that I did him oppose, 

That was their enemy. 

Now I saw that they went to the ascent, that was a 
little way off cast up to be a prospect for pilgrims, 
(that was the place from whence Christian had the 
first sight of Faithful, his brother; Part i. p. 98.) 
W T herefore here they sat down and rested ; they also 
here did eat and drink and make merry, for that they 
had gotten deliverance from this so dangerous an 
enemy. As they sat thus and did eat, Christiana 
asked the guide if he had got no hurt in the battle ! 
Then said Mr. Great-heart, No, save a little on my 
flesh; yet that also shall be so far from being to my 
14 



306 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

detriment, that it is at present a proof of my love to 
my Master and you, and shall be a means, by grace, 
to increase my reward at last. 

Chr. But was you not afraid, good Sir, when you 
saw him come with his club. 

It is my duty, said he, to distrust my own ability, 
that I may have reliance on him that is stronger than 
all, (2 Cor. iv.) 

Chr. But what did you think, when he fetched you 
down to the ground at the first blow 1 

Why, I thought, quoth he, that so my Master himself 
was served, and yet he it was that conquered at last. 

Mat. When you all have thought what you please, I 
think God has been wonderful good unto us, both 
in bringing us out of this valley, and in delivering us 
out of the hand of this enemy ; for my part, I see no 
reason why we should distrust our God any more, 
since he has now, and in such a place as this, given 
us such testimony of his love as this. 

Then they got up and went forward. Now a little 
before them stood an oak; and under it, when they 
came to it, they found an old pilgrim* fast asleep : 
they knew that he was a pilgrim by his clothes, and 
his staff, and his girdle. 

So the guide, Mr. Great -heart, awaked him; and 
the old gentleman, as he lifted up his eyes, cried out, 
What's the matter 1 Who are you 1 and what is your 
business here ? 

Gr.-h. Come, man, be not so hot ; here is none but 
friends. Yet the old man gets up, and stands upon his 
guard, and will know of them what they were. Then 
said the guide, My name is Great-heart ; I am the 
guide of these pilgrims, which are going to the Celes- 
tial country. 



* "Old pilgrim"— The allegory requires ns to suppose that there were 
some places in which the pilgrims misrht safely sleep : so that nothing disad- 
vantageous to the character of this old disciple seems to have been intended. 
An avowed dependance on Christ for righteousness, a regard to the word 
of God, and an apparent sincerity in word and deed, mark a man to be a 
pilgrim, or constitute a professor of the Gospel ; but we should not too 
readily conclude every professor to be a true believer. The experienced Chris- 
tian will be afraid ot new acquaintance ; in his most unwatchmi seasons 
he will be fully convinced that no enemy can hurt him, unless he is induced 
to yield to temptation and commit sin. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 307 

Then said Mr. Honest, I cry your mercy ; I feared 
that you had been of the company of those that some 
time ago did rob Little-faith of his money ; but now I 
look better about me, I perceive you are honester 
people. 

Gr.-h. Why, what would, or could you have done, or 
helped yourself, if we indeed had been of that com- 
pany ? 

Hon. Done ! why I would have fought as long- as 
breath had been in me ; and had I so done, I am sure 
you could never have given me the worst on't ; for a 
Christian can never be overcome unless he should 
yield himself. 

Well said, father Honest, quoth the guide ; for by 
this I know thou art a cock of the right kind, for thou 
hast said the truth. 

Hon. And by this also I know that thou knowest 
what true pilgrimage is : for all others do think that 
we are the soonest overcome of any. 

Gr.-h. Well, now we are happily met, let me crave 
your name, and the name of the place you came from ? 

Hon. My name I cannot : but I came from the town 
of Stupidity : it lieth about four degrees beyond the 
city of Destruction. 

Gr.-h. Oh ! are you that countryman then 1 ? I deem I 
have half a guess of you ; your name is old Honesty, 
is it not 1 So the old gentleman blushed, and said, 
Not Honesty in the abstract ;* but Honesty is my 
name, and 1 wish that my nature may agree to what 
I am called. 

But, Sir, said the old gentleman, how could you 
guess that I am such a man, since I came from such a 
place. 

Gr.-h. I have heard of you before, by my master, for 
he knows all things that are done on the earth ; but I 

* " Abstract'? — Honesty in the abstract seems to mean sinless perfection. 
The pilgrim was a sound character, but conscious of many imperfections, 
of which he was ashamed, and from which he sought deliverance. The 
nature of faith, hope, love, patience, and other holy dispositions, is described 
in Scripture, as a man would define gold, by its essential properties. This 
shows what they are in the abstract ; but as exercised by us, they are always 
mixed with considerable alloy ; and we are richer or poorer in this respect, 
inproportion to the degree of the gold or of the alloy which is found in our 
affections and character. 



308 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

have often wondered that any should come from your 
place, for your town is worse than is the city of De- 
struction itself. 

Hon. Yes, we lie more off from the sun,* and so are 
more cold and senseless ; but was a man in a mountain 
of ice, yet if the Sun of Righteousness will arise upon 
him, his frozen heart shall feel a thaw. And. thus it 
has been with me. 

Gr.-h. I believe it, father Honest, I believe it; for I 
know the thing is true. 

Then the old gentleman saluted all the pilgrims with 
a holy kiss of charity ; and asked them of their names, 
and how they had fared since they had set out on their 
pilgrimage. 

Then said Christiana, My name, I suppose, you have 
heard of: good Christian was my husband, and these 
four were his children. But can you think how the 
old gentleman was taken, when she told him who she 
was ! He skipped, he smiled, and blessed them with 
a thousand good wishes ; saying, I have heard much, 
of your husband, and of his travels and wars, which 
he underwent in his days. Be it spoken to your com- 
fort, the name of your husband rings all over these 
parts of the world ; his faith, his courage, his enduring, 
and his sincerity under all, has made his name famous. 
Then he turned him to the boys, and asked of them 
their names, which they told him. And then said he 
unto them, Matthew, be thou like Matthew the pub- 
lican, not in vice but in virtue. Samuel, saith he, be 
thou like Samuel the prophet, a man of faith and 
prayer. Joseph, said he, be thou like Joseph in Poti- 
phar's house, chaste, and one that flees from tempta- 
tion. And James, be thou like James the Just, and 
like James the brother of our Lord, (Matt, x, 3 ; Ps. 
xcix, 6 ; Gen. xxxix; Acts i, 13, 14.) Then they told 
him of Mercy, and how she had left her town and her 
kindred to come along with Christiana and with her 
sons. At that the old honest man said, Mercy is thy 



* " Sun" — The Lord sometimes calls those sinners, whose character, con- 
nexions, and situation, seeni to place at the greatest distance from him ; that 
the riches of his mercy and the power of his grace may be thus rendered tha 
more conspicuous and illustrious. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 309 

name ; by mercy shalt thou be sustained, and carried 
through all those difficulties that shall assault thee in 
thy way, till thou shalt come thither, where thou 
shalt look the fountain of mercy in the face with 
comfort. 

All this while the guide, Mr. Great -he art, was very 
well pleased, and smiled upon his companions. 

Now, as they walked together, the guide asked the 
old gentleman if he did not know one Mr. Fearing, that 
came on pilgrimage out of his parts 1 

Yes, veiy well, said he. He was* a man that had 
the root of the matter in him ; but he was one of the 
most troublesome pilgrims that I ever met with in all 
my days. 

Gr.-h. I perceive you knew him, for you have given 
a very right character of him. 

Hon. Knew him ! I was a great companion of his ; I 
was with him most an end ; when he first began to 
think of what would come upon us hereafter, I was 
with him. 

Gr.-h. I was his guide, from my master's house to 
the gate of the Celestial city. 

Hon. Then you knew him to be a troublesome one. 

Gr.-h. I did so, but I could very well bear it ; for 
men of my calling are oftentimes intrusted with the 
conduct of such as he was. 

Hon. Well then, pray let us hear a little of him, and 
how he managed himself under your conduct. 

Gr.-h. Why, he was always afraid that he should 



* " He was" — The character and narrative of Fearing has been generally 
admired by experienced readers, as drawn and arranged with great judg- 
ment, and in a very affecting manner. Little-faith in the first part was 
faint-hearted and distrustful, and thus he contracted guilt and lost, his com- 
fort ; but Fearing dreaded sin, and coming shon of heaven, more than all 
that flesh could do unto him. He was alarmed at the least appearance or 
report of opposition ; but this arose more from conscious weakness, and the 
fear of being overcome by temptation, than from a reluctance to undergo 
derision or persecution. The peculiarity of diis description of Christians 
must be traced back to constitution, habit, first impressions, disproportion- 
ate and partial views of truth, and improper instructions : these, concurring 
with weakness of faidi, and the common infirmities of human nature, give 
a cast to their experience and character, which renders them uncomfortable 
to themselves, and troublesome to others ; yet no competent judges doubt 
but they have the root of the matter in them ; and none are more enti- 
tled to the patient, sympathizing, and tender attention of ministers and 
Christians. 



310 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

come short whither he had a desire to go. Every 
thing frighted him that he heard any body speak of, 
that had but the least appearance of opposition in it. 
I hear that he lay roaring* at the Slough of Despond 
for above a month together ; nor durst he, for all he 
saw several go over before him, venture, though they 
many of them offered to lend him their hand. He 
would not go back again neither. The Celestial city ! 
he said, he. should die if he came not to it; and yet was 
dejected at every difficulty, and stumbled at every 
straw that any body cast in his way. Well, after he 
had lain at the Slough of Despond a great while, as J 
have told you, one sunshine morning-, I don't know 
how, he ventured, and so got over ; but when he wa? 
over, he would scarce believe it. He had, I think, a 
slough of despond in his mind, a slough that he carried 
every where with him, or else he could never hava 
been as he was. So he came up to the gate, (you 
know what I mean,) that stands at the head of this 
way ; and there also he stood a good while before he 
would venture to knock. When the gate was opened, 
he would give back, and give place to others, and say, 
that he was not worthy ; for all he got before some t( 
the gate ^ yet many of them went in before him. There 
the poor man would stand shaking and shrinking ; ; 
dare say it would have pitied one's heart to have see; 
him ; nor would he go back again. At last he took th< 

* " Roaring" — Professors of this description are greatly retarded in the:; 
progress b} T discouraging fears ; they are apt to spend too much time if 
unavailing complaints ; they do not duly profit by die counsel and assist 
ance of their brethren, and often neglect the proper means of getting relie- 
from their terrors : yet they cannot think of giving up their feeble hopes, o' 
returning to their forsaken worldly pursuits and pleasures. They are 
indeed, helped forward, through the mercy of God, in a very extraordinary 
manner ; yet they still remain exposed to alarms and discouragements, i 
every stage of their pilgrimage : nor can they ever habitually rise superior 
to them. They are afraid even of relying on Christ for salvation ; becaus* 
they have confused views of his love, and the methods of his grace, am* 
imagine some other qualification to be necessary besides the willingness t< 
seek, knock, and ask for the promised blessings, with a real desire of obtain 
ing them. They imagine that there has been something in their past life, 
onhat there is some peculiarity in their present habits and propensities, ana 
•way of applying to Christ, which may exclude them from the general bene- 
fit; so that they pray with diffidence; and being consciously unworthy, 
can hardly believe that the Lord regards them, or will grant their requests. 
They are also prone to overlook the most decisive evidences of their recon- 
ciliation to God ; and to persevere in arguing with perverse ingenuity against 
their own manifest happiness. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 311 

hammer that hanged at the gate in his hand, and gave 
a small rap or two ; then one opened to him, but he 
shrunk back as before. He that opened, stepped out 
after him, and said, Thou trembling one, what wantest 
thou 1 With that he fell down to the ground. He 
that spake to him wondered to see him so faint. He 
said to him, Peace to thee ; up, for I have set open the 
door to thee; come in, for thou art blessed. With 
that he got up, and went in trembling ; and when that 
he was in, he was ashamed to show his face. Well, 
after he had been entertained there awhile, (as you 
know how the manner is,) he was bid go on his way, 
and also told the way he should take. So he went 
till he came to our house ; but as he behaved himself 
at the gate, so he did at my master, the Interpreter's 
door. He lay* thereabout in the cold a good while, be- 
fore he would adventure to call ; yet he would not go 
back ; and the nights were long and cold then. Nay, 
he had a note of necessity in his bosom to my master, 
to receive him, and grant him the comfort of his house, 
and also to allow him a stout and valiant conductor, 
because he was himself so chicken-hearted a man ; 
and yet, for all that, he was afraid to call at the door. 
So he lay up and down thereabouts, till, poor man, he 
was almost starved; yea, so great was his dejection, 
that though he saw several others for-knocking got in, 

* " He lay"— The same mixture of humility and unbelief renders persons 
of this description backward in associating with their brethren, and in fre- 
quenting those companies in which they might obtain farther instruction: 
for they are afraid of being considered as believers, or even serious inquirers : 
so that affectionate and earnest persuasion is requisite to prevail with them 
to join in those religious exercises, by which Christians especially receive 
the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Yet this arises not from disinclination, but 
diffidence ; and though they are often peculiarly favoured with seasons of 
great comfort, to counterbalance their dejections, yet they never hear or 
read of false professors, who have drawn back to perdition, but they are 
terrified with the idea that they shall shortly resemble them ; so that every 
warning given against hypocrisy or self-deception seems to point them out 
by name, and every new discovery of any fault or mistake in their views, 
temper, or conduct, seems to decide their doom. At the same time, they 
are often remarkably melted into humble admiring gratitude, by con- 
templating the love and sufferings of Christ, and seem to delight in 
hearing of that subject above all others. They do not peculiarly fear dif- 
ficulties, self-denial, reproaches, or persecution, which deter numbers 
from making an open profession of religion ; and yet they are more 
backward in this respect than others ; because they deem themselves 
unworthy to be admitted to such privileges, and into such society ; or else 
are apprehensive of being finally separated from them, or becoming a dis- 
grace to religion. 



312 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

yet he was afraid to venture. At last, I think, I looked 
out of the window, and perceiving a man to be up and 
down about the door, I went out to him, and asked 
what he was ; but, poor man, the water stood in his 
eyes ; so I perceived what he wanted. I went there- 
fore in, and told it in the house, and we showed the 
things to our Lord ; so he sent me out again to entreat 
him to come in ; but, I dare say, I had hard work to do 
it. At last he came in ; and I will say that for my 
Lord, he carried it w r onderful loving to him. There 
were but a few good bits at the table, but some of it 
was laid upon his trencher. Then he presented the 
note ; and my Lord looked thereon, and said his desire 
should be- granted. So when he had been there a good 
while, he seemed to get some heart, and to be a little 
more comforted. For my master, you most know, is 
one of very tender bowels, especially to them that are 
afraid ; wherefore he carried it so towards him as 
might tend most to his encouragement. Well, when 
he had a sight of the things of the place, and was ready 
to take his journey to go to the city, my Lord, as he did 
to Christian before, gave him a bottle of spirits, and 
some comfortable things to eat. Thus we set forward, 
and I went before him ; but the man was but of few 
words, only he would sigh aloud. 

When we were come to where the three fellows 
were hanged, he said, that he doubted that that would 
be his end also. Only he seemed K glad when he saw 
the cross and the sepulchre. There 1 confess he desired 
to stay a little to look, and he seemed for a while after 
to be a little comforted. When we came at the hill 
Difficulty, he made no stick at that, nor did he much 
fear the lions ; for you must know, that his trouble was 
not about such things as these ; his fear was about his 
acceptance at last. 

I got him in at the house Beautiful, I think, before 
he was willing ; also, when he was in, I brought him 
acquainted with the damsels that were of the place, 
but he was ashamed to make himself much for com- 
pany ; he desired much to be alone, yet he always 
loved good talk, and often would get behind the screen 
to hear it ; he also loved much to see ancient things, 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 313 

and to be pondering them in his mind. He told me, 
afterward, that he loved to be in those two houses 
from which he came last, to wit, at the gate, and that 
of the Interpreter, but that he durst not be so bold as 
to ask. 

When we went also from the house Beautiful, down 
the hill, into the valley* of Humiliation, he went 
down as well as ever I saw a man in my life ; for he 
cared not how mean he was, so he might be happy 
at last. Yea, I think there was a kind of sympathy 
betwixt that valley and him, for I never saw him better 
in all his pilgrimage than he was in that valley. 

Here he would lie down, embraca the ground, 
and kiss the very flowers that grew in this valley, 
(Lam. iii, 27 — 29.) He would now be up every morning 
by break of day, tracing and walking to and fro in the 
valley. 

But when he was come to the entrance of the valley 
of the Shadow of Death, I thought I should have lost 
my man ; not for that he had inclination to go back, 
(that he always abhorred,) but he was ready to die for 
fear. the hobgoblins will have me, the hobgoblins 
will have me ! cried he, and I could not beat him out 
on't. He made such a noise, and such an outcry here, 
that, had they but heard liim, it was enough to encou- 
rage them to come and fall upon us. But this I took 
very great notice of, that this valley was as quiet when 
he went through it, as ever I knew \t before or since. 
I suppose those enemies here had now a special check 
from our Lord, and a command not to meddle until 
Mr. Fearing was passed over it. 

It would be too tedious to tell you of all ; we will 

• " Valley" — A low and obscure situation suits the disposition of the 
persons here described : they do not object to the most humiliating views 
of their own hearts, of human nature, or of the way of salvation ; they 
are little tempted to covet eminence among their brethren, aud find it easier 
" to esteem others better than themselves, ""than persons of a different frame 
of mind can well conceive. On the other hand their imaginations are pecu- 
liarly susceptible of impressions, and of the temptations represented by the 
valley of the Shadow of Death : so diat in this respect they need more than 
others the tender and patient instructions of faithful ministers : while they 
repeat the same complaints, and urge the same objections against them- 
selves, that have already been obviated again and again ; but the tender 
compassion of the Lord to them should suggest an useful instruction to bis 
servants on this part of their work. * 



314 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 



therefore only mention a passage or two more. When* 
he was come to Vanity Fair, I thought he would have 
fought with all the men in the fair ; I feared there we 
should both have been knocked on the head, so hot 
was he against their fooleries. Upon the Enchanted 
Ground, he also was very wakeful. But, when he 
was come at the river where was no bridge, there 
again he was in a heavy case : Now, now, he said, he 
should be drowned for ever, and so never see that 
face with comfort, that he had come so many miles to 
behold. And here also I took notice of what was very 
remarkable, the water of that river was lower at this 
time than ever I saw it in all my life ; so he went over 
at last, not much above wet-shod. When he was going 
up to the gate, Mr. Great-heart began to take his 
leave of him, and to wish him a good reception above ; 
so he said, I shall, I shall; then parted we asunder, 
and I saw him no more. 

Hon. Then, it seems, he was well at last ? 

Gr.-h. Yes, yes, I never had doubt about him ; he 
was a man of a choice spirit ; only he was always kept 
very low, and that made his life so burthensome to him- 
self, and so very troublesome to others, (Ps. lxxxviii.) 
He was, above many, tender of sin; he was so afraid 
of doing injuries to others, that he would often deny 
himself of that which was lawful, because he would 
not offend, (Rom. xiv, 21 ; 1 Cor. viii, 13.) 

* "When"— No Christians are more careless about the opinion of the 
world, or more zealous against its vanities, than persons of this description ; 
or more watchful in times of ease and prosperity : but the prospect of death 
is often a terror to them, especially when they suppose it to be at hand ; yet 
they often die with remarkable composure and comfort. Few ministers, 
who have had an opportunity of carefully observing ihe people intrusted to 
their pastoral care, can help thinking of some individual, who might seem 
to have been the original of this admirable portrait: which is full of insula- 
tion both to them, and the timid, but conscientious part of their congrega- 
tions. In ieed numbers, who are not characteristically Fearfuls, have 
something of the same disposition in many particulars. But such as fear 
reproach and self-denial more than those thin?s, which this good man 
drta Je i, bear a contrary character, and are travelling the road to an opposite 
place ; and even they, whose confidence of an interest in Christ far exceeds 
the degree of Uieir humiliation, conscientiousness, abhorrence of sin, and 
■victory over the world, may justly be suspected of having begun their reli- 
gion in a wrong manner : as they more resemble the stony-ground hearers, 
who "received the word with joy, but had no root in themselves ;" than 
those who " sow in tears, to reap in joy." For " godly sorrow worketh 
repentance unto salvation, not to be repented of." 



e 

p 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 315 

Hon. But what should be the reason that such a good 
man should be all his days so much in the dark ? 

Gr.-h. There are two sorts of reasons for it ; one is, 
the wise God will have it so ; some must pipe, and 
some must weep, (Matt, xi, 16. 18 :) now Mr. Fearing 
was one that played upon the bass. He and his fellows 
sound the sackbut, whose notes are more doleful than 
notes of other music are : though, indeed, some say, 
the bass is the ground of music. And, for my part, I 
care not at all for that profession that begins not in 
heaviness of mind. The first string that the musician 
usually touches is the bass, when he intends to put all 
in tune ; God also plays upon this string first, when he 
sets the soul in tune for himself. Only there was the 
imperfection of Mr. Fearing, he could play upon no 
other music but this, till towards his latter end. 

[I make bold to' talk thus metaphorically, for the 
ripening of the wits of young readers ; and because, 
in the book of Revelation, the saved are compared to 
a company of musicians, that play upon their trumpets 
and harps, and sing their songs before the throne. — 
Rev. viii, xiv, 2, 3.] 

Hon. He was a very zealous man, as one may see by 
what relation you have given of him. Difficulties, 
lions, or Vanity Fair, he feared not at all ; it was only 
sin, death, and hell, that were to him a terror, because 
he had some doubts about his interest in that celestial 
country. 

Gr.-h. You say right ; those were the things that 
were his troubles ; and they, as you have well ob- 
served, arose from the weakness of his mind there- 
about, not from weakness of spirit, as to the practical 
part of a pilgrim's life. I dare believe, that, as the' 
proverb is, He could have bit a firebrand, had it stood 
in his way ; but those things with which he was op- 
pressed, no man ever yet could shake off with ease. 

Then said Christiana, This relation of Mr. Fearing 
has done me good ; I thought nobody had been like me, 
but I see there was some semblance betwixt this good 
man and I; only we differ in two things; his troubles 
were so great that they broke out, but mine I kept with- 
in. His also lay so hard upon him, they made him 



316 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 






that he could not knock at the houses provided for en- 
tertainment ; but my troubles were always such, as 
made me knock the louder. 

Mer. If I might also speak my mind, I must say, that 
something of him has also dwelt in me ; for I have ever 
been more afraid of the lake, and the loss of a place in 
Paradise, than I have been at the loss of other things. 
O ! thought I, may I have the happiness to have a ha- 
bitation there, it is enough, though I part with all the 
world to win it. 

Then said Matthew, Fear was one thing that made 
me think that 1 was far from having that within me 
that accompanies salvation : but if it was so with such 
a good man as he, why may it not also go well with 
me? 

No fears, no grace, said James.- Though there is 
not always grace where there is the fear of hell ; yet, 
to be sure there is no grace where there is no fear of 
God. 

Gr.-h. Well said, James ; thou hast hit the mark, 
for "the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom;" 
and, to be sure, they that want the beginning have 
neither middle nor end. Bat we will here conclude 
our discourse of Mr. Fearing, after we have sent after 
him his farewell. 

Whilst, master Fearing, thou didst fear 

Thy God, and wast afraid 
Of doing any thing, while here, 

That would have thee betray'd; 
And didst thou fear the lake and pit ? 

Would others did so too ! 
For as for them, they want thy wit : 

They do themselves undo. 

Now I saw that they all went on in their talk ; for, 
after Mr. Great-heart had made an end with Mr. Fear- 
ing-, Mr. Honest began to tell them of another, but his 
name* was Mr. Selfwill. He pretended himself to be a 

* " Name" — The author peculiarly excels in contrasting his characters, 
of which a striking instance here occurs. The preceding episode relates to 
a very conscientious Christian, who through weak faith and misapprehen- 
sion carried his self-suspicion to a troublesome and injurious extreme; and 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 317 

pilgrim, said Mr. Honest ; but, I persuade myself, he 
never came in at the, gate that stands at the head of 
the way. 

Gr.-li. Had you ever any talk with him about it ? 

Hon. Yes, more than once or twice ; but he would 
always be like himself, self-willed. He "neither cared 
for man, nor argument, nor example ; wnat his mind 
prompted him to, that he would do; and nothing else 
could he be got to. 

Gr.-h. Pray what principles did he hold? for I sup- 
pose you can tell. 

Hon. He held, that a man might follow the vices as 
well as the virtues of the pilgrims ; and that if he did 
both, he should be certainly saved. 

Gr.-h. How ! if he had said, it is possible for the 
best to be guilty of the vices, as well as partake 
of the virtues of pilgrims, he could not much have been 
blamed. For, indeed, we are exempted from no vice 
absolutely, but on condition that we watch and strive. 
But this, I perceive, is not the thing : but if I under- 
stand you right, your meaning is, that he was of that 
opinion, that it was allowable so to be. 

Hon. Ay, ay, so I mean; and so he believed and 
practised. 

Gr.-h. But what grounds had he for so saying? 

Hon. Why,' he said he had the Scripture for his 
warrant. 

■we have next introduced a false professor who, pretending to strong faith, 
made his own obstinate self-will the only rule of his conduct. But,ln fact, 
this arises from total unbelief: for the word of God declares such persons to 
be unregenerate, under the wrath of God, in the gall of bitterness and jhe 
bond of iniquity. It would hardly be imagined, that men could be found 
maintaining such detestable sentiments as are here stated, did not facts most 
awfully prove it. We need not, however, spend time in exposing such a 
character : a general expression of the deepest detestation may suffice ; for 
none, who have been given up to such strong delusion, can reasonably be 
supposed accessible to the words of truth ana soberness ; nor can they suc- 
ceed in perverting others to such palpable and gross absurdities and abom- 
inable tenets ; except they meet with those, that have long provoked God, 
by endeavouring to reconcile a wicked life with the hope of salvation.* But 
it may properly be observed, that several expressions, which seem to repre- 
sent faith as an assurance of a personal interest in Christ ; or to intimate, 
that believers have nothing to do with the law, even as the rule of their 
conduct ; with many unguarded assertions, concerning the liberty of the 
Gospel, and indiscriminate declamations against doubts, fears, and a legal 
spirit, have a direct tendency to prepare the mind of impenitent sinners to 
receive the poisonous principles of avowed antinomians. Much harm has 
been done in this way, and great disgrace brought upon the Gospel ; far 
" there are many of this man's mind, who have not this man's mouth." 



318 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Gr.-h. Pr'ythee, Mr. Honest, present us with a few 
particulars. 

Hon. So I will. He said, to have to do with other 
men's wives had been practised by David, God's be- 
loved ; and therefore he could do it. He said, to have 
more womeji than one, was a thing that Solomon prac- 
tised ; and therefore he could do it. He said, that 
Sarah and the godly midwives of Egypt lied, and so did 
Rahab ; and therefore he could do it. He said, that the 
disciples went, at the bidding of their Master, and +ook 
away the owner's ass : and therefore he could do so 
too. He said that Jacob got the inheritance of his 
father in a way of guile and dissimulation ; and there- 
fore he could do so too. 

Gr.-M High base, indeed ! and are you sure he was 
of this opinion ! 

Hon. I have heard liirn plead for it, bring Scripture 
for it, bring arguments for it, &c. 

Gr.-h. An opinion that is not fit to be with any allow- 
ance in the world ! 

Hon. You must understand me rightly ; he did not 
say that an} r man might do this ; but that those, that 
had the virtues of those that did such things, might 
also do the same. 

Gr.-h. But what more false than such a conclusion? 
for this is as much as to say, that because good men 
heretofore have sinned of infirmity, therefore he had 
allowance to do it of a presumptuous mind : or if, be- 
cause a child, by the blast of wind, or for that it stum- 
bled at a stone, fell down, and defiled itself in mire, 
therefore he might wilfully lie down and wallow like a 
boar therein. Who could have thought that any one 
could so far have been blinded by the power of lust ? 
But what is written must be true ; " they stumbled at 
the word, being disobedient ; whereunto also they 
were appointed," (Pet. ii, 8.) His supposing that such 
may have the godly man's virtues, who addict them- 
selves to his vices, is also a delusion as strong as the 
other. It is just as if the dog should say, I have, or 
may have, the qualities of a child, because I lick up its 
stinking excrements. " To eat up the sin of God's 
people," (Hos. iv, 8,) is no sign of one that is possessed 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 319 

with their virtues. Nor can I believe, that one that is 
of this opinion can at present have faith or love in him. 
But I know you have made strong- objections against 
him ; pr'ythee what can he say for himself? 

Hon. Why, he says, to do this by way of opinion, 
seems abundance more honest than to do it and yet 
hold contrary to it in opinion. 

Gr.-h. A very wicked answer ; for though, to let 
loose the bridles to lusts, while our opinions are 
against such things ? is bad; yet to sin, and plead a 
toleration so to do, is worse ; the one stumbles be- 
holders accidentally, the other leads them unto the 
snare. 

Hon. There are many of this man's mind, that have 
not this man's mouth; and that makes going on pil- 
grimage of so little esteem as it is. 

Gr.-h. You have said the truth, and it is to be 
lamented; but he that feareth the King of Paradise 
shall come out of them all. 

tyr. There are strange opinions in the world ; I 
know one that said it was time enough to repent when 
he came to die. 

Gr.-h. Such are not over-wise ; that man would have 
been loath, might he have had a week to run twenty 
miles for his life, to have deferred that journey to the 
last hour of that week. 

Hon. You say right ; and yet the generality of them 
that count themselves pilgrims do indeed do thus. I 
am, as you see, an old man, and have been a traveller 
in this road many a day ; and I have taken notice of 
many things. 

I have seen some that set out as if they would drive 
all the world afore them, who yet have, in few days, 
died as they in the wilderness, and so never got sight 
of the promised land. I have seen some that have 
promised nothing at first setting out to be pilgrims, 
and that one would have thought could not have lived 
a day, that have yet proved very.good pilgrims. I have 
seen some who have run hastily forward, that again 
have, after a little time, run as /ast just back again. 
I have seen some who have spoken very well of a 
pilgrim's life at first, that after a while have spoken 



320 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

as much against it. I have heard some, when they 
first set out for Paradise, say positively, There is 
such a place ; who, when they have been almost there, 
have come back again, and said, There is none. I 
have heard some vaunt what they would do, in case 
they should be opposed, that have even at a false 
alarm, fled faith, the pilgrim's wa) r , and all. 

Now as they were thus in their way, there came one 
running to meet them, and said, Gentlemen, and you 
of the weaker sort, if you love life, shift for yourselves, 
for the robbers are before you. 

Then said Mr. Great-heart, They be the three that set 
upon Little-faith heretofore. Well, said he, we are 
ready for them. So they went on their way. Now 
they looked at every turning, when they should have 
met with the villains ; but, whether they heard of Mr. 
Great-heart, or whether they had some other game, 
they came not up to the pilgrims. 

Christiana then wished for an inn* for herself and 
her children, because they were w-eary. Then |aid 
Mr. Honest, There is one a little before us, where a 
very honourable disciple, one Gaius, dwells, (Rom. 
xvi, 23.) So they all concluded to turn in thither, and 
the rather, because the old gentleman gave him so 
good a report. So when they came to the door, they 
went in, not knocking ; for folks use not to knock at 
the door of an inn. Then they called for the master 
of the house, and he came to them. So they asked if 
they might lie there that night ? 

Gai. Yes, gentlemen, if you be true men, for my 
house is for none but pilgrims. Then was Christiana, 
Mercy, and the boys, more glad, for that the innkeeper 
was a lover of pilgrims. So they called for rooms, and 
he showed them one for Christiana and her children, 
and Mercy, and another for Mr. Great-heart and the 
old gentleman. 

* "An inn" — The spiritual, refreshment, arising from experimental and 
affectionate conversation with Christian friends, seems to be here more espe- 
cially intended ; yet the name of Gaius suggests also the importance of the 
apostle's exhortation, " Use hospitality without grudging. " This ought to 
be attended to, even in respect of those with whom we have hitherto had 
no acquaintance, provided their characters are properly certified to us : for 
we are all brethren in Christ 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 321 

Then said Mr. Great-heart, Good Gaius, what hast 
thou for supper ? for these pilgrims have come far to- 
da^ and are weary. 

It is late, said Gaius, so we cannot conveniently go 
out to seek food, but such as I have you shall be wel- 
come to, if that will content you. 

Gr.-h. We will be content with what thou hast in 
the house : forasmuch as I have proved thee, thou art 
never destitute of that which is convenient. 

Then he went down and spake to the cook, whose 
name was Taste-that-which-is-good, to get ready sup- 
per for so many pilgrims. This done, he comes up 
again, saying, Come, my good friends, you are wel- 
come to me, and I am glad that I have a house to en- 
tertain you ; and while supper is making ready, if you 
please, let us entertain one another with some good 
discourse : so they all said, Content. 

Then said Gaius, Whose wife is this aged matron? 
and whose daughter is this young damsel ? 

Gr.-h. The woman is the wife of one Christian, a 
pilgrim in former times, and these are his four children. 
The maid is one of her acquaintance ; one that she 
hath persuaded to come with her on pilgrimage. The 
boys take all after their father, and covet to tread in 
his steps : yea, if they do but see any place where the 
old pilgrim had lain, or any print of his foot, it minis- 
tereth joy to their hearts, and they covet to lie or 
tread in the same. 

Then said Gaius, Is this Christian's wife, and are 
these Christian's children ! I knew your husband's 
father, yea, also his father's father. Many have been 
good of this stock; their ancestors first dwelt at An- 
tioch, (Acts xi, 26.) Christian's progenitors, (I suppose 
you have heard your husband talk of them,) were 
very worthy men. They have, above any that I know, 
showed themselves men of great virtue and courage 
for the Lord of the pilgrims, his ways, and them that 
loved him. I have heard of many of your husband's 
relations, that have stood all trials for the sake of the 
truth. Stephen, that was one of the first of the family 
from whence your husband sprang, was knocked on 
the head with stones, (Acts vii, 59, 60.) James, 



322 THE PILGRDPS PROGRESS, 

another of this generation, was slain with the edge of 
the sword, (Acts xii, 2.) To say nothing of Paul and 
Peter, men anciently of the family from whence yur 
husband came, there was Ignatius, who was cast to 
the lions ; Romanus, whose flesh was cut by pieces 
from his bones ; and Poly carp, that played the man hi 
the fire. There was he that was hanged up in a basket 
in the sun for the wasps to eat ; and he whom they 
put into a sack, and cast him into the sea to be drowned. 
It would be impossible utterly to count up ail that 
family, that hare suffered injuries and death for the 
love of a pilgrim's life. Nor can I but be glad, to see 
that thy husband has left behind him four such boys as 
these. I hope they will bear up their father's name, 
and tread in their father's steps, and come to their 
father's end. 

Gr.-h. Indeed, Sir, they are likely lads : they seem 
to choose heartily then father's ways. 

Gai. That is what I said ; wherefore Christian's 
family is like still to spread abroad upon the face of 
the ground, and yet to be numerous upon the face of 
the earth : wherefore let Christiana look out some 
damsels for her sons, to whom they may be betrothed, 
&c, that the name of their father and the house of his 
progenitors may never be forgotten in the world. 

Eon. It is pity his family should fall and be extinct. 

Gai. Fall it cannot, but be diminished it may : bat 
let Christiana take my advice, and that's the way to 
uphold it. 

And Christiana, said this innkeeper, I am glad to see 
thee and thy friend Mercy together here, a lovely 
couple. And may I advise,* Take Mercy into a nearer 
relation to thee : if she will, let her be given to Matthew, 
thy eldest son ; it is the way to preserve a posterity 
in the earth. So this match was concluded, and in 
process of time they were married : but more of that 
hereafter. 

* " Advise"— The author availed himself of the opportunity hese presented 
him, of giving his opinion on a very imporant subject, about which religious 

Eersons often hold different sentiments. He evidently intended to say, that 
e deemed it generally most safe and advantageous to the parties them- 
selves, and most conducive to the spread and permanency of true religion, 
for young professors to marry ; provided it be done in the fear of God, aad 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 321 

Gaius also proceeded, and said, I will now speak on 
the behalf of women, to take away their reproach. 
For as death and the curse came into the world by a 
woman, so also did life and health : " God sent forth 
his Son, made of a woman," (Gen. iii ; Gal. iv, 4.) 
Yea, to show how much those that came after did 
abhor the act of the mother, this sex in the Old Testa- 
ment coveted children, if happily this or that woman 
might be the mother of the Saviour of the world. I 
will say again, that when the Saviour was come, 
women rejoiced in him, before either man or angel, 
(Luke iL) I read not, ever man did give unto Christ so 
much as one groat : but the women followed him, and 
ministered to him-of their substance. It was a woman 
that washed his feet with tears, and a woman that 
anointed his body to the burial. They were women 
that wept, when he was going to the cross ; and wo- 
men that followed him from the cross, and that sat by 
his sepulchre when he was buried. They were women 
that were first with him at his resurrection morn ; and 
women that brought tidings first to his disciples, that 
he was risen from the dead, (Luke vii, 3^—50 ; viii, 2, 
3 ; xxiii, 27 ; xxiv, 22, 23 ; John ii, 3 ; xi, 2 ; Matt, xxvii, 
55, 56—61.) Women therefore are highly favoured, 
and show by these things, that they are sharers with 
us in the grace of life. 

Now the cook sent up to signify that supper was 
almost ready : and sent one to lay the cloth and the 
trenchers, and to set the salt and bread in order. 

Then said Matthew, the sight of this cloth, and of 



according to the rules of his word.. Yet we cannot suppose but he would 
readily have allowed of exceptions to this rule : for there are individuals, 
who, continuing; single, employ that time and those talents in assiduously 
doing good, which in the married state must have been greatly abridged or 
preoccupied ; and thus they are more extensively useful than their brethren. 
Yet, in common cases, the training up of a family, by die combined efforts 
of pious parents, in honesty, sobriety, industry, and the principles of true 
religion : when united with fervent prayer, and the persuasive eloquence 
of a good example, is so important a service to the church and to the com- 
munity, that few persons are capable of. doing greater or more permanent 
good in any other way. But this requires strict attention to the rules of 
^Scripture, in every step of these grand concerns ; for children, brought 
up in ungodliness and ignorance, among those who are strangers to the 
Gospel, are far more hopeful than such as have received a bad, education,, 
witnessed bad examples, and imbibed worldly principles,, in tUefamilies of; 
evangelical professor. 



324 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

this forerunner of the supper, begetteth in me a 
greater appetite to my food than I had before. 

Gai. So let all ministering doctrines to thee, in this 
life, beget in thee a greater desire to sit at the supper 
of the great King in this kingdom ; for all preaching, 
books, and ordinances here, are but as the laying of 
the trenchers, and as setting of salt upon the board, 
when compared with the feast that our Lord will make 
us when we come to his house. 

So supper* came up ; and first a heave-shoulder and 
a wave-breast were set on the table before them, to 
show that they must begin the meal with prayer and 
praise to God, (Lev. vii, 32—34 ; x, 14, 15; Ps. xxv, 1 ; 
Heb. xiii, 15.) The heave-shoulder, David lifted his 
heart up to God with ; and with the ware breast, where 
his heart lay, with that he used to lean upon his harp, 
when he played. These two dishes were very fresh 
and good, and they all ate heartily thereof. 

The next they brought up was a bottle of wine, as 
red as blood. So Gaius said to them, Drink freely, this 
is the true juice of the vine, that makes glad the heart 
of God and, man. So they drank and were merry, 
(Deut. xxxii, 14; Judg. ix, 13 ; John xv, 5.) The next 
was a dish of milk well crumbled: but Gaius said, Let 
the boys have that, that they may " grow thereby," 

* " Supper" — The different parts of social worship and Christian fellow- 
ship-are here allegorically described. The heave-shoulder and wave-breast 
seem to have typified the power and love of our great High Priest; and to 
have conveyed an instruction to the priests to do their work with all their 
might, and with their whole heart : but diey are here supposed to be also 
emblems of fervent prayer and grateful praise. The wine represents the 
exhilarating remembrance of the love of Christ in shedding his blood for 
us, and the application of the blessing to ourselves by living faith. The 
milk is the emblem of die plain, simple, and important instructions of 
Scripture, as brought forward by believers, when diey meet together for 
their edification. The butter and honey may denote diose animating views 
of God, and realizing anticipations of heavenly joy, which tend gready to 
establish the judgment, interest die understanding, and determine the affec- 
tions, in cleaving to the good part that die believer hadi chosen. The apples 
represent die promises and privileges which believers possess by communion 
with Christ in his ordinances, (Cant, ii, 3,) and the nuts signify such diffi- 
cult subjects as experience and observation enable mature Chrisdans to 
understand ; and which amply repay the pains of endeavouring to pene- 
trate their meaning ; though they are not proper for the discussions of young 
converts. Whatever unbelievers may think, a company of Christians, em- 1 
ploying themselves in the manner here described, have fax sweeter enjoy- 
ments than they ever experienced when engaged in die mirth, diversions, 
and pleasures, of the world: for these are merely the shadow of joy, but 
religion puts us in possession of the substance. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 325 

(1 Pet. ii, 1, 2.) Then they brought up in course a 
dish of butter and honey. Then said Gaius, Eat freely 
of this, for this is good to cheer up and strengthen 
your judgments and understandings. This was our 
Lord's dish when he was a child : " Butter and honey 
shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and. 
choose the good," (Isa. vii, 15.) Then they brought him 
up a dish of apples, and they were very good tasted 
fruit. Then said Matthew, May we eat apples, since 
they were such, by and with which the serpent beguiled 
cur first mother ? 
Then said Gaius, 

Apples were they with which we were beguil'd, 
Yet-sin, not apples, hath our souls defil'd : i 

Apples forbid, if eat, corrupt the blood, 
To eat such, when commanded, does us good : 
Drink of his flagons, then, thou church his dove, 
And eat his apples, who are sick of love. 

Then said Matthew, I made the scruple, because 
awhile since, I was sick with eating of fruit. 

Gai. Forbidden fruit will make you sick, but not 
what our Lord has tolerated. 

While they were thus talking, they were presented 
with another dish, and it was a dish of nuts, (Sol. Song 
vi, 11.) Then said some at the table, Nuts spoil tender 
teeth, especially the teeth of the children. Which 
when Gaius heard, he said : 

Hard texts are nuts, (I will not call them cheaters,) 
Whose shell do keep their kernels from the eaters : 
Ope then the shells, and you shall have the meat ; 
They here are brought for you to crack and eat. 

Then they were very merry, and sat at the table a 
long time, talking of many things. Then said the old 
gentleman, My good landlord, while ye are cracking 
your nuts, if you please, do you open this riddle : 

A man there was, though some did count him mad,) 
The more he casts away, the more he had. 
K 



325 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Then they, all gave good heed, wondering what g , . . 
Gaius would say; so he sat still awhile, and then thus- 
replied : — 

He who thus bestows his goods upon the poor, 
Shall have as much again, and ten times more. 

Then said Joseph, I dare say, Sir, I did not think you 
could have found it out. 

Oh ! said Gaius, I have been trained up in this way a 
great while : nothing teaches like experience : I have 
learned of my Lord to be kind ; and have found by ex- 
perience, that I have gained thereby. " There is that 
scattereth. yet increaseth; and there is that withhold- 
eth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty : there 
is that make th himself rich, yet hath nothing : there 
is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches,"' 
(Prov. xi, 24 ; xiii, 7.) 

Then Samuel whispered to Christiana, his mother, 
and said, Mother, this is a very good man's house ; let 
us stay here a good while, and let my brother Matthew- 
be married here to Mercy, before we go any farther. 

The which Gaius the host overhearing, said, With a 
very good will, my child. 

So they staid here more than a month; and Mercy 
was given to Matthew to wife. 

While they staid here, Mercy, as her custom was, 
would be making coats and garments to give to the 
poor, by which she brought up a very good report* 
upon pilgrims. 

But to return again to our story. After supper, the 
lads desired a bed, for they were weary with travelling : 
then Gaius called to show them their chamber ; but 
said Mercy, I will have them to bed. So he had them 
to bed, and they slept well : but the rest sat up all 
night ; for Gaius and they were such suitable company., 
that they could not tell how to part Then after much, 
talk of their Lord, themselves, and their journey, old 

* " Report" — If our love to sinners be only shown by seeking their spirit- 
ual g ocd, ii will be considered as a mere bigoted desire to proselyte them tc 
*ur sec*, or party : but uniform, diligent, and expensive endeavours to relieve 
Iheir temporal wants are intelligible to every man, aud brings a good report 
«& tbe profession, of the Gospel^ (Matt. v y 16V) 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 327 

Mr. Honest, (he that put forth the riddle to Gaius) began 
to nod. Then said Great-heart, What, Sir, you begin 
to be drowsy ? come, rub up, now here is a riddle for 
you. Then said Mr. Honest, let us hear it. 
Then said Mr. Great-heart, 

He that will kill, must first be overcome : 
Who live abroad would, first must die at home. 

Ha ! said Mr. Honest, it is a hard one, hard to ex- 
pound, and harder to practise. But come, landlord, 
said he, I will if you please, leave my part to you; do 
you expound it and I will hear w~hat you say. 

No, said Gaius, it was put to you, and it is expected 
you should answer it. 

Then said the old gentleman, 

He first by grace* must conquer'd be, 

That sin would mortify : 
Who, that he lives, w 7 ould convince me, 

Unto himself must die. 

It is right, said Gaius ; good doctrine and experience 
teaches this. For, until grace displays itself, and over- 
comes the soul with its glory, it is altogether without 
heart to oppose sin : besides, if sin is Satan's cords, by 
which the soul lies bound, how should it make resist- 
ance, before it is loosed from that infirmity 1 Nor will 
any, that knows either reason or grace, believe that 
such a man can be a living monument of grace, that is 
a slave to his own corruption. And now it comes in 
my mind I will tell you a story worth the hearing. 
There were two men that went on pilgrimage, the one 
began when he was young, the other when he w*as old ; 
the young man had strong corruptions to grapple with, 
the old man's were weak with the decays of nature : the 
young man trode his steps as even as did the old one, 
and was every way as light as he : who now, or which 
of them, had their graces shining clearest, since both 
seemed to be alike 1 

• " Grace"— The gracious operations of the Holy Spirit are here meant : 
these overcome our natural pride, love of sin, and aversion to God and reli- 
gion ; and then we repent, believe in Christ, are justified by faith, mortify 
sin, die to ourselves, and live to God in righteousness and true holiness. 



328 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Hon. The young man's, doubtless. For that which 
heads it against the greatest opposition gives best 
demonstration that it is strongest ; especially when it 
also holdeth pace with that that meets not with half 
so much ; as to be sure old age* does not. Besides, I 
have observed, that old men have blessed themselves 
with this mistake ; namely, taking the decays of na- 
ture for a gracious conquest over corruptions, and so 
have been apt to beguile themselves. Indeed, old 
men, that are gracious, are best able to give advice 
to them that are young, because they have seen most 
of the emptiness of things : but yet, for an old and a 
young man to set out both together, the young one has 
the advantage of the fairest discovery of a work of 
grace within him, though the old man's corruptions are 
naturally the weakest. 

Thus they sat talking till break of day. Now w r hen 
the family was up, Christiana bid her son James that 
he should read a chapter ; so he read the fifty-third of 
Isaiah. When he had done, Mr. Honest asked, why it 
was said that the Saviour is said to come out of a dry 
ground ; and also that he had no form or comeliness 
in him ? 

Then said Mr. Great-heart, To the first, I answer, 
because the church of the Jews, of which Christ came, 
had then lost almost all the sap and spirit of religion. 

* " Old age" — Old age affords a man srreat advantage in overcoming 
some corrupt propensities: yet habits of indulgence often more than coun- 
terbalance the decays of nature ; and avarice, suspicion, and peevishness, 
with other evils, gather strength as men advance in years. It is therefore 
in some particulars only, that age has the advantage over youth ; and some 
old men imagine that they have renounced sin, because they are no longer 
capable of committing the crimes in which they once lived : so there are 
young men, who presume that they shall live to be old, and imagine that 
repentance will then be comparatively easy to them : whereas, sin, in one 
form or other, gathers strength and establishes its dominion, as long as it is 
permitted to reign in the soul. The instruction, however, that is here con- 
veyed, is very important ; provided it be properly understood : for if we do 
not estimate the advantages of our situation, we cannot determine how far 
external amendment results from internal renovation. During tedious 
diseases, or in the immediate prospect of death, men often feel very indif- 
ferent to the world, set against sin, disinclined to former indulgences, and! 
earnest about salvation: yet returning health, business, company, and 
temptation terminate such promising appearances. Many suppose them- 
selves to be very good-tempered, while every one studies to oblige them ; 
yet provocation excites vehement anger and resentment in their breast : nay, 
riches and honour seem at a distance to have no charms for those, who are 
powerfully attracted by their maguetical influence when placed within their 
reach. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 329 

To the second, I say, the words are spoken in the per- 
son of the unbeliever, who, because they want the eye 
that can see into our Prince's heart, therefore they 
judge of him by the meanness of his outside. Just like 
those that know not that precious stones are covered 
over with a homely crust ; who, when they have found 
one, because they know not what they have found, cast 
it again away, as men do a common stone. 

Well, said Gaius, now you are here, and since, as I 
know, Mr. Great-heart is good at his weapons, if you 
please, afterwe have refreshed ourselves, we will walk 
into the fields, to see if we can do any good. About a 
mile* from hence there is one Slay-good, a giant, that 
does much annoy the king's highway in these parts : 
and I know whereabout his haunt is : he is master of 
a number of thieves : it would be well if we could clear 
these parts of him. 

So they consented, and went, Mr. Great-heart with 
his sword, helmet, and shield, and the rest with spears 
and staves. 

When they came to the place where he was, they 
found him with one Feeble-mind in his hand, whom his 
servants had brought unto him, having taken him in 



■* " A mile" — The refreshment of divine consolations and Christian fel- 
lowship is intended to prepare us for vigorously maintaining the good fight 
of fahh ; not only against the enemies of our own souls, but also against 
the opposers of our holy religion, according to the talents entrusted to us, 
and the duties of our several stations. We are soldiers belonging to one 
great army, under the command of the captain of our salvation ; and we 
ought to strive against sin, and " contend for the faith once delivered to the 
eaints," by our^profession, example, prayers, converse, and every other 
method authorised by the word of God. All that love the Lord are our 
brethren ; and every thing that can mislead, dismay, or hinder any of theim 
6hould be considered as an adversary to the common cause ; and we should 
counteract with meekness, but with firmness and decision, all the endeav- 
ours of those who obstruct men in the ways of the Lord, or turn them 
aside into by-paths. It does not however clearly appear what particular 
description of opposers were represented by Slay-good : whether the author 
had in view certain selfish and malignant persecutors, who intimidated 
professors by fines and imprisonment, to the hazard of their lives, or of 
their souls; or some plausible heretics, who "taught things which they 
ought not, for filthy lucre's sake," to the total ruin of many that seemed 
hopeful, and the great detriment of others, who were weak in faith and 
confused in judgment. The conflict seems merely to denote the efforts 
which Christians should make, to prevent the effects of such opposition 
and delusion, and to remove such occasions of mischief out of the way ; 
as also to show, that the strong in faith are peculiarly called to these ser- 
vices, and ought not to shrink from hardship, danger, and suffering in so 
good a cause. 



330 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

» 
the way : now the giant was rifling him, with a purpose, 
after that, to pick his bones ; for he was of the nature 
of flesh-eaters. 

Well, so soon as he saw Mr. Great-heart and his 
friends at the mouth of his cave, with their weapons, 
he demanded what they wanted. 

Gr.-h. We want thee, for we are come to revenge 
the quarrels of the many that thou hast slain of the pil- 
grims, when thou hast dragged them out of the king's 
highway ; wherefore come out of thy cave. So he armed 
himself and came out ; and to the battle they went, and 
fought for above an hour, and then stood still to take 
wind. 

Then said the giant, "Why are you here on my 
ground 1 

Gr.-h. To revenge the blood of pilgrims, as I also 
told thee before. So they went to it again, and the 
giant made Mr. Great-heart give back; but he came up 
again, and in the greatness of Ins mind he let fly with 
such stoutness at the giant's head and sides, that he 
made him let his weapon fall out of his hand ; so he 
smote and slew him, and cut off his head, and brought 
it away to the inn. He also took Feeble-mind the pil- 
grim, and brought him with him to his lodgings. When 
they were come home, they showed his head to the 
family, and set it up, as they had done others before, 
for a terror to those that shall attempt to do as he, 
hereafter. 

Then they asked Mr. Feeble-mind, how he fell into 
his hands 1 

Then said the poor man,* I am a sickly man, as you 

* "Poor man" — The character of Feeble-mind seems to coincide in some 
things with that of Fearing : and in others with the description of Little- 
faith. Constitutional timidity and lowness of spirits, arising from a feeble 
frame and frequent sickness, while they are frequendy the means of exciting 
men to religion, give also a peculiar cast to tiieir views and the nature of 
their profession ; tend to hold them under perpetual discouragements ; and 
unfit them for hard and perilous services. This seems implied in the name 
given to the native place of Feeble-mind : his uncertainty or hesitation in 
his religious profession was the effect of his natural turn of mind, which 
was opposite to the sanguine and confident. Yet this timid and discouraged 
irresolution often connects with evident sincerity and remarkable perse- 
verance iu the ways of God. The principal difference between Feeble-mind 
and Fearing seems to be this : — that the tormer was more afraid of opposi. 
tion, and the latter more doubtful about the event ; which perhaps may 
intimate, that Slay-good rather represents persecutors than deceivers. 



WITH SCOTTS NOTES. 331 

see, and because death did usually once a day "knock 
a.t my door, I thought I should never be well at home ; 
so I betook myself to a pilgrim's life ; and have travelled 
hither from the town of Uncertain, where I and my 
father were born. I am a man of no strength at all of 
body, nor yet of mind; but would, if rcould, though I 
can but crawl, spend my life in the pilgrim's way 
When I came at the gate that is at the head of the way, 
the Lord of that place did entertain me freely ; neither 
objected he against my weakly looks, nor against my 
feeble mind ; but gave me such things that were neces- 
sary for my journey, and bid me hope to the end. When 
I came to the house of the Interpreter, I received much 
kindness there ; and because the hill of Difficulty was 
judged too hard for me, I was earned up that by one of 
his servants. Indeed I have found much relief from 
pilgrims, though none was willing to go softly as I am 
forced to do : yet still as they came on, they bid me be 
of good cheer, and said, that it was the will of their 
Lord, that " comfort" should be given to "the feeble- 
minded ;" and so went on their own pace. When I was 
come to Assaulf-lane, then this giant met with me, and 
bid me prepare for an encounter ; but, alas ! feeble one 
that I was ! I had more need of a cordial : so he came 
up and took me. I conceived he should not kill me : 
also when he had got me into his den, since I went not 
with him willingly, I believed I should come out alive 
again ; for I have heard, that not any pilgrim that is 
taken captive by violent hands, if he keeps heart whole 
towards his Master, is, by the laws of Providence,. to 
die by the hand of the enemy. Robbed I looked to be, 
and robbed to be sure I am ; but I am, as you see, 
escaped with life, for the which I thank my King as 
author, and you as the means. Other brunts I also 
look for : but this I have resolved on, to wit, to run 
when I can, to go when I cannot run, and to creep when 
I cannot go. As to the main, I thank him that loved 
me, I am fixed ; my way is before me, my mind is be- 
yond the river that has no bridge ; though I am, as you 
see, but of a feeble mind. 

Then said old Mr. Honest, Have not you some time 
ago been acquainted with one Mr. Fearing, a pilgrim ? 



332 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Feebl Acquainted with him ! yes ; he carne from the 
town of Stupidity, which lies four degrees northward 
of the city of Destruction, and as many off of where I 
was born ; yet we were well acquainted, for indeed he 
was my uncle, my father's brother ; he and I have been 
much of a temper ; he was a little shorter than I, but 
yet we were much of a complexion. 

Hon. I perceive you know him ; and I am apt to 
believe also, that you were related one to another, for 
you have his whitely look, a cast like his with your 
eye, and your speech is much alike. 

Feebl. Most have said so, that have known us both; 
and, besides, what I have read in him, I have for the 
most part found in myself. 

Come, Sir, said good Gaius, be of good cheer, you 
are welcome to me, and to my house, and what thou 
hast a mind to, call for freely ; and what thou wouldest 
have my servants do for thee, they will do it with a 
ready mind. 

Then said Mr. Feeble-mind, This is an unexpected 
favour, and as the sun shining out of a very dark cloud. 
Did giant Slay-good intend me this favour when he stopt 
me, and resolved to let me go no farther ? Did he in- 
tend, that after he had rifled my pocket, I should go to 
*' Gaius mine host ?" Yet so it is. 

Now just as Mr. Feeble-mind and Gaius were thus 
in talk, there comes one running, and called at the 
door, and told, that about a mile and a half off there 
was one Mr. Not-right, a pilgrim, struck dead upon the 
place where he was, with a thunderbolt. 

Alas !* said Mr. Feeble-mind, is he slain ? He over- 
took me some days before I came so far as hither, and 
would be my company-keeper ; he also was with me 
when Slay-good the giant took me, but he was nimble 



* " Alas !,' — Here again we meet with a contrast between a feeble believer 
and a specious hypocrite. The latter eludes persecution by time-serving, 
yet perishes in his sins : the former suffers and trembles, yet hopes ; is deli- 
vered and comforted, and finds his trials terminate in his greater advantage. 
The frequency with which this difference is introduced, and the variety of 
character by which it is illustrated, shows us how important the author 
deemed it, to warn false professors at the same time that we comfort the 
feeble minded, and to mark as exactly as we can the discriminating pecu- 
liarities of their aim and experience. 



WITH SCOTFS NOTES, $31 

of his heels, and escaped ; but, it seems, he escaped to 
die, and I was took to live. 

What, one would think, doth seek to slay outright, 

Oft-times delivers from the saddest plight. 

That very providence, whose face is death, 

Doth oft-times, to the lowly, life bequeath, 

I taken was, he did escape and flee ; 

Hands cross'd give death to him, and life to me. 

Now about this time Matthew and Mercy were mar- 
ried ; also Gaius gave his daughter Phebe to James, 
Matthew's brother, to wife. After whichr time they 
staid about ten days at Gaius's house, spending their 
time, and the seasons, like as pilgrims used to do. 

When they were to depart, Gaius made them a feast, 
and they did eat and drink, and were merry. Now the 
hour was come that they must be gone ; wherefore Mr. 
Great -heart called for a reckoning. But Gaius told 
him, that at his house it was not the custom of pilgrims 
to pay for their entertainment. He boarded them by 
the year, but looked for his pay from the Good Samari- 
tan, who had promised him, at his return, whatsoever 
charge he was at with them, faithfully to repay him, 
(Luke x, 34, 35.) Then said Mr. Great-heart to him, 
" Beloved, thou doest faithfully, whatsoever thou doest 
to the brethren and to strangers, which have borne wit- 
ness of thy charity before the church, whom, if thou yet 
bring forward on their journey, after a godly sort, thou 
shalt do well," (3 John, 5, 6.) 

Then Gaius took his leave of them all, and his chil- 
dren, and particularly of Mr. Feeble-mind : he also gave 
him something to drink by the way. 

Now Mr. Feeble-mind, when they were going out at 
the door, made as if he intended to linger. The which 
when Mr. Great-heart spied, he said, Come, Mr. Feeble- 
mind, pray do you go along with us, I will be your 
conductor, and you shall fare as the rest. 

Fee. Alas ! I want a suitable companion ; you are 
all lusty and strong ; but I, as you see, am weak ; I 
choose therefore rather to come behind, lest by reason 
of my many infirmities, I should be both a burthen to 
myself and to you. I am, as I said, a man of a weak 
K2 



334 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 






and feeble mind, and shall be offended* and made 
weak at that which others can bear. I shall like no 
laughing ; I shall like no gay attire ; I shall like no 
unprofitable questions. Nay, I am so weak a man, as 
to be offended with that which others have a liberty 
to do. I do not know all the truth ; I am a very igno- 
rant Christian man ; sometimes, if I hear some rejoice 
in the Lord, it troubles me, because I cannot do so 
too. It is with me, as it is with a weak man among 
the strong, or as a lamp despised. " He that is ready- 
to slip with his feet, is as a lamp despised in the 
thought of him that is at ease," (Job xii, 5 ;) so that I 
know not what to do. 

But, brother, said Mr. Great-heart, I have it in com- 
mission to " comfort the feeble-minded," and to support 
the weak. You must needs go along with us ; we will 
wait for you ; we will lend you our help ; we will deny 
ourselves of some things, both opinionative and prac- 
tical, for your sake ; we will not enter into " doubtful 
disputations" before you ; we will be made all things to 
you, rather than you shall be left behind, (Rom. xiv ; 
1 Cor. viii ; ix, 22.) 

Now all this while they were at Gaius's door ; and 
behold, as they were thus in the heatxff their discourse, 
Mr. Ready-to-halt came by, with his crutches in his 
hand, and he also was going on pilgrimage, (Psalm 
xxxviii, 17.) 



* " Offended"— Weak believers are conscientious, even to scrupulosity : 
so far from allowing dieraselves in the practice of known sin, or the omis- 
sion of evident duty, they are prone to abridge themselves in things which 
are indifferent, they often impose rules on themselves, which they do not 
expect others to observe ; and sometimes are sensible that their uneasi- 
ness, at the liberty used by dieir brethren, arises from ignorance and low 
attainments : and therefore they deem it better to live retired, than to burthen 
others with their peculiarities, or be grieved with things which everywhere 
meet their observation. But there are persons, diat expect to be encouraged 
as weak believers, who are far removed from such scrupulousness ; and 
whose weakness consists merely in an inability to maintain an unwavering 
confidence, while they live in a loose and negligent manner. These seem, 
more to resemble Not-right than Feeble-mind. They Uiat are indeed weak 
believers should learn from this passage to beware of censoriousness, and 
of making themselves a standard for others : and their stronger brethren 
should be reminded not to despise or grieve them, by an inexpedient use of 
their liberty. [The author, in a marginal note, has marked Great-heart's 
answer as a christian spirit.] They will, however, commonly find associ- 
ates, in some measure, of their own "turn, who are often more useful to thein t 
than such as cannot entirely sympathize with their feelings. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 335 

Then said Mr. Feeble-mind to him, How earnest thou 
hither ? I was but now complaining that I had not a 
suitable companion ; but thou art according to my wish. 
Welcome, welcome, good Mr. Ready-to-halt, I hope 
thou and I may be some help. 

Ready-to-halt. I shall be glad of thy company, said 
the other ; and, good Mr. Feeble-mind, rather than we 
will part, since we are thus happily met, I will lend 
thee one of my crutches. 

Fee. Nay, said he, though I thank thee for thy good- 
will, I am not inclined to halt before I am lame. How- 
beit, I think, when occasion is, it may help me against 
a dog. 

Ready-to-halt. If either myself or my crutches can 
do thee a pleasure, we are both at thy command, good 
Mr. Feeble-mind. 

Thus therefore they went on. Mr. Great -heart and 
Mr. Honest went before, Christiana and her children 
went next, and Mr. Feeble-mind and Mr. Ready-to-halt 
came behind with his crutches. Then said Mr. Honest, 
Pray, Sir, now we are upon the road, tell us some pro- 
fitable things of some that have gone on pilgrimage 
before us. 

Gr.-h. With a good will. I suppose you have heard 
how Christian of old did meet with Apollyon in the 
valley of Humiliation, and also what hard work he had 
to go through the valley of the Shadow of Death. Also 
I think you cannot but have heard how Faithful was 
put to it by Madam Wanton, with Adam the First, with 
one Discontent, and Shame : four as deceitful villains 
as a man can meet with upon the road. 

Hon. Yes, I believe I heard of all this : but indeed 
good Faithful was hardest put to it with Shame ; he 
was an unwearied one. 

Gr.-h. Ay : fdr, as the pilgrim well said, he of all 
men had the wrong name. 

Hon. But pray, Sir, where was it that Christian and 
Faithful met Talkative ? that same was a notable one. 

Gr.-h. He was a confident fool ; yet many follow his 
ways. 

Hon. He had like to have beguiled Faithful. 



S36 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Gr.-h. Ay, but Christian put him into a way quickly 
to find him out. 

Thus they went on till they came to the place where 
Evangelist met with Christian and Faithful, and pro- 
phesied to them what they should meet with at Vanity- 
fair. 

Then said their guide, Hereabouts did Christian 
and Faithful meet with Evangelist, who prophesied to 
them of what troubles they should meet with at Vanity- 
fair. 

Hon. Say you so 1 I dare say it was a hard* chapter 
that then he did read unto them. 

Gr.-h. It was so, but then he gave them encourage- 
ment withal. But what do we talk of them ? they were 
a couple of lion-like men ; they had set their faces like 
flints. Do not you remember how undaunted they were 
when they stood before the judge ? 

Hon. Well, Faithful bravely suffered. 

Gr.-h. So he did, and as brave tilings came on't : for 
Hopeful and some others, as the story relates, were 
converted by his death, (P. i. p. 124—139.) 

Hon. Well, but pray go on ; for you are well ac- 
quainted with things. 

Gr.-h. Above all that Christian met with after he had 
passed through Vanity-fair, one By-ends was the arch 
one. 

Hon. By-ends ! What was he 1 

Gr.-h. A very arch fellow, a downright hypocrite ; 
one that would be religious, which way ever the world 
went : but so cunning, that he would be sure never to 
lose or suffer for it. He had his mode of religion for 
every fresh occasion, and his wife was as good at it 
as he. He would turn and change from opinion to 
opinion : yea, and plead for so doing too. But, as far 



* "Hard" — The near prospect of persecution is formidable even to 
true believers, notwithstanding all the encouragements of God ; s word. 
It is therefore very useful to realize such scenes to our minds and to con- 
sider how we should feel were they actually present; that we may be 
preserved from self-confidence, excited to diligence in every tiling connected 
with the assurance of hope, put on our guard against every action or 
engagement which might weaken our confidence in God ; and pray with- 
out ceasing, for that measure of wisdom, fortitude, patience, meekness, 
faith, and love, which might be sufficient for us, should matters come to the 
worst 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 337 

as I could learn, he came to an ill-end by his by-ends ; 
nor did I ever hear, that any of his children were ever 
of any esteem, with any that truly fear God, (P. i. p. 
139—152. 

Now by this time they were come within sight of 
the town of Vanity, where Vanity-fair is kept. So when 
they saw that they were so near the town they con- 
sulted with one another how they should pass through 
the town : and some said one thing, and some another. 
At last Mr. Great-heart said, I have, as you may under- 
stand, often been a conductor of pilgrims through this 
town : now 1 am acquainted with one Mr. Mnason, a 
Cyprusian by nation, and an old disciple, at whose 
house we may lodge. If you think good, said he, we 
will turn in there. 

Content, said old Honest ; Content, said Christiana ; 
Content, said Mr. Feeble-mind; and so they said all. 
Now you must think it was even-tide by that they got 
to the outside of the town ; but Mr. Great-heart knew 
the way to the old man's house. So thither they came ; 
and he called at the door ; and the old man within 
knew his tongue so soon as ever he heard it ; so he 
opened, and they all came in. Then said Mnason, 
their host, How far have ye come to-day 1 So they said, 
From the house of Gaius our friend. I promise you, 
said he, you have done a good stitch ; you may well 
be weary : sit down. So they sat down. 

Then said their guide, Come, what cheer, good Sirs 1 
I dare say you are welcome to my friend. 

I also, said Mr. Mnason, do bid you welcome ; and 
wiiatever you want, do but say, and we will do what 
we can to get it for you. 

Hon. Our great want, awhile since, was harbour and 
good company, and now I hope we have both. 

Mnas. For harbour, you see what it is : but for good 
company, that will appear in the trial. 

Well, said Mr. Great-heart, will you have the pil- 
grims into their lodging ? 

I will, said Mr. Mnason. So he had them to their 
respective places ; and also showed them a very fair 
dining-room, where they might be, and sup together, 
until time was come to go to rest. 
K3 15 



338 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Now when they were set in their places, and were a 
little cheery after their journey, Mr. Honest asked his 
landlord, if there were any store of good people in the 
town ? 

Mnas. We have a few : for indeed they are but a few, 
when compared with them on the other side. 

Hon. But how shall we do to see some of them ? for 
the sight* of good men, to them that are going on pil- 
grimage, is like to the appearing of the moon and stars 
to them that are going a journey. 

Then Mr. Mnason stamped with his foot, and his 
daughter Grace came up : so he said unto her, Grace, 
go 3 t ou, tell my friends, Mr. Contrite, Mr. Holymam Mr. 
Lovesaints, Mr. Dare-not-lie, and Mr. Penitent, that 
I have a friend or two at my house that have a mind 
this evening to see them. 

So Grace went to call them, and they came ; and, 
after salutation made, they sat down together at the 
table . 

Then said Mr. Mnason, their landlord, My neigh- 
bours, I have, as you see, a company of strangers com© 
to my house ; they are pilgrims ; they come from afar, 
and are going to Mount Sion. Bat who, quoth he, do 
you think this is ? (pointing his fingers at Christiana.) 
It is Christiana, the wife of Christian, that famous pil- 
grim, who, with Faithful his brother, were so shame- 
fully handled in our town. At that they stood amazed, 
saying. We little thought to see Christiana, when Grace 
came to call us ; wherefore this is a very comfortable 
surprise. Then they asked her about her welfare, and 
if these young men were her husband's sons. And 
when she had told them they were, they said, The King, 
whom you love and serve, make you as your father, and 
bring you where he is in peace ! 

Then, Mr. Honest, when they were all set down, 
asked Mr. Contrite, and the rest, in what posture their 
town was at present ? 



* " The sight" — Even in those populous cities, where vanity most pre- 
vails, and where persecution at some seasons has most raged, a remnant 
of real Christians will generally reside: and believers will in everyplace 
inquire after such persons, and associate with them, (Ps. cxix, 63; I John 
iii, 14.) 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 339 

Cont. You may be sure we are full of hurry in fair- 
time. It is hard keeping our hearts and spirits in good 
order, when we are in a cumbered condition. He that 
lives in such a place as this, and that has to do with 
such as we have, has need of an item, to caution him 
to take heed every moment of the day. 

Hon. But how are your neighbours now for quiet- 
ness ? 

Cont. They are much more moderate now than for- 
merly. You know how Christian and Faithful were 
used at our town : but of late, I say, they have been 
far more moderate. I think the blood of Faithful lieth 
with load upon them till now ; for since they burned 
him, they have been ashamed to burn any more : in 
those days we were afraid to walk the streets, but now 
we can show our heads. Then the name of a professor 
was odious ; now, especially in some parts of our town 
(for you know our town is large,) religion is counted 
honourable. 

Then said Mr. Contrite to them, Pray, how fareth it 
with you in your pilgrimage 1 How stands the country 
affected towards you ? 

Hon. It happens to us, as it happeneth to wayfaring 
men ; sometimes our way is clean, sometimes foul, 
sometimes up hill, sometimes down hill ; we are sel- 
dom at a certainty : the wind is not always on our 
backs, nor is every one a friend that we meet with in 
the way. We have met with some notable rubs 
already, and what are yet behind we know not ; but, 
for the most part, we find it true that has been talked 
of old ; " A good man must suffer trouble." 

Cont. You talk of rubs : what rubs have you met 
withal % 

Hon. Nay, ask Mr. Great-heart, our guide, for he 
can give the best account of that. 

Gr.-h. We have been beset three or four times already. 
First, Christiana and her children were beset with two 
ruffians, that they feared would take away their lives. 
We were beset with giant Bloodyman, giant Maul, and 
giant Slaygood. Indeed, we did rather beset the last, 
than were beset of him. And thus it was : after we 
had been some time at the house of Gaius, " mine 



340 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

host, and of the whole church," we were minded upon 
a time to take our weapons with us, and to go see if 
we could light upon any of those that were enemies 
to pilgrims ; for we heard that there was a notable one 
thereabouts. Now Gaius knew Iris haunt better than 
I, because he dwelt thereabout ; so we looked and 
looked, till at last we discerned the mouth of his cave ; 
then were we glad, and plucked up our spirits. So we 
approached up to his den ; and lo, when we came there, 
he had dragged, by mere force, into his net, this poor 
man, Mr. Feeble-mind, and was about to bring him to 
his end. But when he saw us, supposing, as we thought, 
he had another prey, he left the poor man in his house r 
and came out. So we fell to it full sore, and he lustily 
laid about him ; but in conclusion, he was brought 
down to the ground, and his head cut off, and set up by 
the way-side, for a terror to such as should after prac- 
tise such ungodliness. That I tell you the truth, here 
is the man himself to affirm it, who was as a lamb taken 
out of the mouth of the lion. 

Then said Mr. Feeble-mind, I found this true, to my 
cost and comfort ; to my cost, when he threatened to 
pick my bones every moment ; and to my comfort, when 
I saw Mr. Great-heart and his friends, with their wea- 
pons, approach so near for my deliverance. 

Then said Mr. Holyman, There are two things that 
they have need to be possessed of, that go on pilgrim- 
age ; courage, and an unspotted life. If they have not 
courage, they can never hold on their way ; and, if 
their lives be loose, they will make the very name of a 
pilgrim stink. 

Then said Mr. Love saint, I hope this caution is not 
needful among you ; but truly there are many that go 
upon the road, that rather declare themselves stran- 
gers to pDgrimage, than strangers and pilgrims in the 
earth. 

Then said Mr. Dare-not-lie, It is true, they neither 
have the pilgrim's weed, nor the pilgrim's courage; 
they go not uprightly, but all awry with their feet ; one 
shoe goeth inward, another outward, and their hosen 
out behind ; here a rag, and there a rent, to the dis- 
paragement of their Lord. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 341 

These things, said Mr. Penitent, they ought to be 
troubled for ; nor are the pilgrims like to have that 
grace upon them and their pilgrim's progress as they 
desire, until the way is cleared of such spots and 
blemishes. 

Thus they sat talking and spending the time until 
supper was set upon the table ; unto which they went, 
and refreshed their weary bodies : so they went to rest. 
Now they stayed in the fair a great while, at the house 
of Mr. Mnason, who, in process of time, gave his 
daughter Grace unto Samuel, Christiana's son, and his 
daughter Martha to Joseph. 

The time, as I said, that they lay here was long; for 
it was not now as in former times. Wherefore the pil- 
grims grew acquainted with many of the good people 
of the town, and did them what service they could. 
Mercy, as she was wont, laboured much for the poor ; 
wherefore their bellies and backs blessed her, and she 
was there an ornament to her profession. And, to say i 
the truth for Grace, Phebe, and Martha, they were all of 
a very gGod nature, and did much good in their places. 
They were also all of them very fruitful ; so that Chris- 
tian's name, as was said before, was like to live in the 
world. 

While they lay here, there came a monster* out of 
the woods, and slew many of the people of the town. 
It would also carry away their children, and teach 
them to suck its whelps. Now no man in the town 
durst so much as face this monster ; but all men fled 
when they heard of the noise of his coming. The mon- 
ster was like unto no one beast upon the earth ; its 
body was "like a dragon, and it had seven heads and 

* ;t Monster" — This refers to the prevalence of popery for some time 
before the revolution in 1638 : by which many nominal Protestants were 
drawn aside, and numbers of children educated in the principles of that 
dark superstition. The favour or frown of the prince and his party opera- 
ted so powerfully, that worldly men in general yielded to the imposition ; 
but several persons among the nonconformists, as well as in the established 
church, did elninent service at that crisis by their preaching and writings, 
in exposing the delusions and abominations of that monstrous religion ; 
and these endeavours were eventually the means of overturning the plan 
formed for the re-establishment of popery in Britain. The disinterested 
and bold decided conduct of many dissenters on this occasion procured con- 
siderable favour both to them and their brethren, with the best friends of the 
nation ; but the prejudices of others prevented them from reaping all the 
advantage from it that they ought to have done. 
K4 



342 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

ten horns," (Rev. xii, 3.) It made great havoc of chil- 
dren, and yet it was governed by a woman. This mon- 
ster propounded conditions to men ; and such men as 
loved their lives more than their souls accepted of 
those conditions. 

Now Mr. Great-heart, together with those who came 
to visit the pilgrims at Mr. Mnason T s house, entered into 
a covenant to go and engage this beast, if perhaps they 
might deliver the people of this town from the paws 
and mouth of this so devouring a serpent. 

Then did Mr. Great-heart, Mr. Contrite, Mr. Holy- 
man, Mr. Dare-not-lie, and Mr. Penitent, with their 
weapons go forth to meet him. Now the monster, at 
first, was very rampant, and looked upon these ene- 
mies with great disdain; but they so belaboured him, 
being sturdy men at arms, that they made him make 
a retreat : so they came home to Mr. Mnason's house 
again. 

The monster, you must know, had his certain seasons 
to come out in, and to make his attempts upon the 
children of the people of the town : also these seasons 
did these valiant worthies watch him in, and did con- 
tinually assault him ; insomuch that in process of time 
he became not only wounded, but lame ; also he had 
not made the havoc of the townsmen's children as 
formerly he has done. And it is verily believed by 
some, that this beast will certainly die of his wounds. 
This therefore made Mr. Great-heart and his fellows 
of great fame in this town ; so that many of the peo- 
ple, that wanted their taste of tilings, yet had a reve- 
rent esteem and respect for them. Upon this account 
therefore it was, that these pilgrims got not much 
hurt here. True, there were some of the baser sort, 
that could see no more than a mole, nor understand 
no more than a beast ; these had no reverence for 
these men, nor took they notice of their valour and 
adventures. 

Well, the time drew on that the pilgrims must go on 
their way ; therefore they prepared for their journey. 
They sent for their friends ; they conferred with them ; 
they had some time set apart therein, to commit each 
other to the protection of their Prince. There were 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 343 

again that brought them of such things as they had, that 
were fit for the weak and the strong, for the women and 
the men, and so laded them with such things as were 
necessary, (Acts xxviii, 10.) Then they set forward on 
their way ; and their friends accompanying them so far 
as was convenient, they again committed each other 
to the protection of their King, and departed. 

They, therefore, that were of the pilgrims' company, 
went on, and Mr. Great-heart went before them ; now 
the women and children being weakly, they were forced 
to go as they could bear ; by this means Mr. Ready-to- 
halt and Mr. Feeble-mind had more to sympathize with 
their condition. 

When they were gone from the townsmen, and when 
their friends had bid them farewell, they quickly came 
to the place where Faithful was put to death ; therefore 
they made a stand and thanked Him that had enabled 
him to bear his cross so well ; and the rather, because 
they now found, that they had a benefit by such a man's 
sufferings as he was. They went on, therefore, after 
this a good way farther, talking of Christian and Faith- 
ful ; and how Hopeful joined himself to Christian, after 
that Faithful was dead, (P. i, p. 139.) 

Now they were come up with the hill-Lucre, where 
the silver mine was, which took Demas off from his 
pilgrimage, and into which, as some think, By-ends fell 
and perished ; wherefore they considered that. But 
when they were come to the old monument that stood 
over against the hill Lucre, to wit, to the pillar of salt, 
that stood also within view of Sodom and its stinking 
lake, (P. i. p, 153,) they marvelled, as did Christian 
before, that men of that knowledge and ripeness of wit, 
as they were, should be so blind as to turn aside here. 
Only they considered again, that nature is not affected 
with the harms that others have met with, especially 
if that thing, upon which they look, has an attracting 
virtue upon the foolish eye. 

I saw now that they went on till they came to the 
river that was on this side of the Delectable Moun- 
tains, (P. i, p. 177.) To the river where the fine trees 
grow on both sides ; and whose leaves, if taken in- 
wardly, are good against surfeits, (Ps. xxiii,) where the 



344 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

meadows are green all the year long, and where they 
might lie down safely. 

By this river side, in the meadows, there were cotes 
and folds for sheep, a house built for the nourishing and 
bringing up of those lambs, the babes of those women 
that go on pilgrimage. Also there was here one that 
was entrusted with them, who could have compassion, 
and that could gather these lambs with his arm, and 
carry them in his bosom, and that could gently lead 
those that were with young (Heb. v, 2 ; Isa. lxiii.) Now 
to the care* of this man Christiana admonished her 
four daughters to commit their little ones, that by these 
waters they might be housed, harboured, succoured, 
and nourished, and that none of them might be lacking 
in time to come. This man, if any of them go astray, 
or be lost, he will bring them again ; he will also bind 
up that which was broken, and will strengthen them 
that are sick, (Jer. xxiii, 4; Ezek. xxxiv, 11—16.) Here 
they will never want meat, drink, and clothing ; here 
they will be kept from thieves and robbers ; for this 
man will die before one of those committed to his trust 
shall be lost. Besides, here they shall be sure to have 
good nurture and admonition ; and shall be taught to , 
walk in right paths ; and that you know is a favour 
of no small account. Also here, as } t ou see, are deli- 
cate waters, pleasant meadows, dainty flowers, variety 
of trees, and such as bear wholesome fruit; fruit not 
like that which Matthew eat of, that fell over the wall 
out of Beelzebub's garden; but fruit that procureth 
health where there is none, and that continueth and 
increaseth where it is. 

* " Care" — Under this emblem we are taught the importance of early 
recommending our cluldren to the faithful care of the Lord Jesus, by fer- 
vent prayer, with earnest desires of their eternal good, above all secular 
advantages whatsoever : consequently we ought to keep them at a distance 
from such places, connexions, books, and companies, as may corrupt their 
principles and morals; to instil such pious instructions as they are capable 
of receiving ; to bring them early under the preaching of the Gospel and 
to the ordinances of "God ; and to avail ourselves of" every help, in thus 
"training them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." For 
depraved natural propensities, the course of the world, the artifices of Satan, 
the inexperience, credulity, and sanguine expectations of youth, the im- 
portance of the case, and the precepts"of Scripture, concur in requiring this 
conduct of us. Yet. after all, our minds must be anxious about the event, 
in proportion as we value their souls, except as we find relief, by commend- 
ing them to the faithful care of that tender Shepherd, who "gathers tha 
lambs with his arm, and carries them in his bosom-" 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 345 

So they were content to commit their little ones to 
him ; and that which was also an encouragement to 
them so to do was, for that all this was to be at the 
charge of the King ; and so was an hospital to young 
children and orphans. 

Now they went on : and when they were come to 
By-path meadow, to the stile over which Christian 
went with his fellow Hopeful, when they were taken 
by giant Despair, and put into Doubting-castle, they 
sat down and consulted what was best to be done ; 
to wit, now they were so strong, and had got such a 
man as Mr. Great-heart for their conductor, whether 
they had not best to make an attempt upon the giant, 
demolish his castle, and if there were any pilgrims in 
it, to set them at liberty, before they went any farther, 
(P. i, p. 160 — 16S.) So one said one thing, and another 
said to the contrary. One questioned if it was lawful 
to go upon unconsecrated ground ; another said they 
might, provided their end was good. But Mr. Great- 
heart said, Though that assertion offered last cannot 
be universally true, yet I have a commandment to 
resist sin, to overcome evil, to fight the good fight of 
faith : and I pray, with whom should I fight this good 
fight, if noi with giant Despair] I will therefore 
attempt the taking away of his life, and the demolish- 
ing of Doubting-castle. Then said he, Who will go 
with me 1 Then said old Honest, I will. And so we 
will too, said Christiana's four sons, Matthew, Samuel, 
James, and Joseph : for they were young men and 
strong, (1 John, ii,13, 14.) 

So they left the women on the road, and with them 
Mr. Feeble-mind and Mr. Ready-to-halt, with his 
crutches, to be their guard, until they came back ; for 
in that place, though giant Despair dwelt so near, they 
keeping in the road, a little child might lead them, 
(Isa. xi, 6.) 

So Mr- Great-heart, old Honest, and the four young 
men went to go up to Doubting-castle, to look for giant 
Despair. When they came to the castle gate, they 
knocked for entrance with an unusual noise. With that 
the old giant comes to the gate, and Diffidence his wife 
follows. Then said he, Who and what is he that is so 

15* 



346 

hardy, as after this manner to molest the giant Despair? 
Mr. Great-heart replied, It is I, Great-heart, one of the 
King of the celestial country's conductors of pilgrims 
to their place : and I demand of thee, that thou open 
thy gates for my entrance : prepare thyself also to fight, 
for I am come to take away thy head, and to demolish 
Doubting-castle. 

Now giant Despair, because he was a giant, thought 
no man could overcome him: and again, thought he, 
Since heretofore I have made a conquest of angels, shall 
Great-heart make me afraid 1 So he harnessed himself, 
and went out; he had a cap of steel upon his head, a 
breast-plate of fire girded to him, and he came out in 
iron shoes, with a great club in his hand. Then these 
six men made up to him, and beset him behind and 
before : also when Diffidence, the giantess, came up 
to help him, old Mr. Honest cut her down at one 
blow. Then they fought for their lives, and giant 
Despair was brought down to the ground, but was very 
loth to die : he struggled hard, and had, as they say, 
as many lives as a cat ; but Great -heart was his death ; 
for he left him not till he had severed his head from 
his shoulders. 

Then they fell to demolishing Doubting-castle, and 
that you know might with ease be done, since giant 
Despair was dead. They were seven days in destroy- 
ing of that : and in it, of pilgrims, they found one Mr. 
Despondency, almost starved to death, and one Much- 
afraid, Ms daughter ; these two they saved alive. But 
it would have made you have wondered to have seen 
the dead bodies that lay here and there in the castle 
yard, and how full of dead men's bones the dungeon 
was. 

When Mr. Great -heart and his companions had per- 
formed this exploit, they took Mr. Despondency, and 
his daughter Much-afraid, into their protection ; for 
they were honest people, though they were prisoners 
in Doubting-castle to that giant Despair. They there- 
fore, I say, took with them the head of the giant (for 
his body they had buried under a heap of stones,) and 
down to the road and to their companions they came, 
and showed them what they had done. Now when 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 347 

Feeble-mind and Ready-to-halt saw that it was the 
head of giant Despair indeed, they were very jocund 
and merry. Now Christiana, if need was, could play 
upon the viol, and her daughter Mercy upon the lute : 
so, since they were so merry disposed, she played 
them a lesson, and Ready-to-halt would dance. So 
he took Despondency's daughter, named Much-afraid, 
by the hand, and to dancing the}- went in the road. 
True, he could not dance without one crutch in his 
hand ; but I promise you he footed it well : also the 
girl was to be commended, for she answered the music 
handsomely. 

As for Mr. Despondency, the music was not much to 
him : he was for feeding rather than dancing : for that 
he was almost starved. So Christiana gave him some 
of her bottle of spirits, for present relief, and then pre- 
pared him something to eat ; and in a little time the 
old gentleman came to himself, and began to be finely 
revived. 

Now I saw in my dream, when all these things were 
finished, Mr. Great-heart took the head of giant Despair, 
and set it upon a pole by the highway-side, right over 
against the pillar that Christian erected for a caution 
to pilgrims that came after, to take heed of entering 
into his grounds. 

Then he writ under it, upon a marble stone, these 
verses folio whig : — 

This is the head* of him, whose name only 
In former time, did pilgrims terrify. 
His castle's down, and Diffidence, his wife, 
Brave master Great-heart has bereft of life. 

* " The head"— These lines are here added, as in other places, 

" Though Doubting-castle be demolished, 
And giant Despair too has lost his head ; 
Sin can rebuild die castle, make't remain, 
And make Despair, the giant, live again." 

Indeed they seem to be much wanted ; for the exploit of destroying Doubt* 
ing-castle, and killing giant Despair, is more liable to exception than any 
incident in the whole work. To relieve the minds of such as are discouraged 
in the path of duty, or when inquiring the way of salvation, is doubtless a 
most important service in the cause" of Christ; this is represented by the 
attempts made to mend the road over die sloueh of Despond : but By-path 
meadow ought to lead to Doubting-castle ; such inward distresses are as 



348 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Despondency, his daughter Much-afraid, 
Great-heart for them also the man has play'd. 
Who hereof doubts, if he'll but cast his eye 
Up hither, may his scruples satisfy. 
This head also, when doubting cripples dance, 
Doth show from fears they have deliverance. 

When those men had thus bravely showed themselves 
against Doubting-castle, and had slain giant Despair, 
they went forward, and went on till they came to the 
Delectable Mountains, where Christian and Hopeful 
refreshed themselves with the varieties of the place. 
They also acquainted themselves with the shepherds 
there, who welcomed them, as they had done Christian 
before, unto the Delectable Mountains. 

Now the shepherds seeing so great a train fol- 
low Mr. Great-heart (for with him they were well 
acquainted,) they said unto him, Good Sir, you have 
got a goodly company here : pray where did you find 
all these ! 

Gr.-li. First, here is Christiana and her train, 

Her sons, and her sons' wives, who, like the wain, 
Keep by the pole, and do by compass steer 
From sin to grace, else they had not been here. 

useful to Christians as any other rebukes and corrections, by -which their 
loving Friend renders them watchful and circumspect. Could this order 
be reversed, it would give strength to temptation ; and tend to embolden 
men to seek relief from difficulties by transgression ; for the apprehension 
of subsequent distress is one grand preventive, even to the believer, when 
such measures are suggested to his mind. Indeed, this is the Lord's method 
of performing his covenant to his people; "I will," says he, "put my 
fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me," (Jer. xxxii, 
•10.) If therefore love be not in lively exercise, he has so ordered it, that 
fear should intervene, to prevent worse consequences. So diat, when 
believers have not only departed from the way, but have also fallen asleep 
on forbidden ground, their alarms and doubts are salutary, though often 
groundless and extreme: and should any man, by preaching or writing, 
be able to prevent ail the desponctings of such persons, previous to their 
repentance and its happy effects, he would subserve tiie design of the tempter, 
and counteract the Lord's plan. We can, with propriety, do no more in 
this case, than encourage the fallen to repent and seek forgiveness, by the 
general truths, invitations, and promises of Scripture ; and comfort them 
when penitent, by suitable topics, that they may not be swallowed up for 
over-much sorrow. But though this part of the allegory may be deemed 
liable to some objection, or capable of being abused, yet it is probable, that 
the author only intended to show, that the labours of faithful ministers, with 
the converse and prayers of such believers as are strong in faith, may be 
very useful in recovering the fallen, and relieving them that are ready to 
despond ; and of thus preventing the more durable and dreadfui effects of 
the weak believer's transgressions. 






WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. S49 

Next, here's old Honest come on pilgrimage ; 
Ready-to-halt too, who, I dare engage, 
True-hearted is, and so is Feeble-mind, 
Who willing was not to be left behind. 
Despondency, good man, is coming after, 
And so also is Much-afraid his daughter. 
May we have entertainment here, or must 
We farther go ? Let's know whereon to trust. 

Then said the shepherds, This is a comfortable com- 
pany ; you are welcome to us, for we have for the fee- 
ble as for the strong : our Prince has an eye to what 
is done to the least of these (Matt, xxv, 40 :) therefore 
infirmity must not be a block to our entertainment. 
So they had them to the palace doors, and then said 
unto them, Come in, Mr. Feeble-mind; come in, Mr. 
Ready-to-halt ; come in, Mr. Despondency, and Mrs. 
Much-afraid his daughter. These, Mr. Great-heart, 
said the shepherds to the guide, we call in by name, 
for that they are most subject to draw back ; but as 
for you, and the rest that are strong, we leave you to 
your wonted liberty. Then said Mr. Great-heart, 
This day I see that grace doth shine in your faces, 
and that you are my Lord's shepherds indeed ; for 
that you have not pushed these diseased neither 
with side nor shoulder, but have rather strewed their 
way into the palace with flowers, as you should (Ezek. 
xxxiv, 21.) 

So the feeble and weak went in, and Mr. Great-heart 
and the rest did follow. When they were also sat 
down the shepherds said to those of the weakest sort, 
What is it that you would have ? For, said they, all 
things must be managed here to the supporting of the 
weak, as well as the warning of the unruly. 

So they made them a feast of things easy of diges- 
tion, and that were pleasant to the palate and nour- 
ishing : the which when they had received, they went 
to their rest, each one respectively unto his proper 
place. When morning was come, because the moun- 
tains were high, and the day clear ; and because it was 
the custom of the shepherds to show the pilgrims be- 
fore their departure some rarities ; therefore, after 



350 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

they were ready, and had refreshed themselves, the 
shepherds took them out into the fields, and showed 
them first what they had showed to Christian before 
(P. i. p. 170—174.) 

Then they had them to some new places. The first 
was mount Marvel,* where they looked, and beheld a 
man at a distance, that tumbled the hills about with 
words. Then they asked the shepherds what, that 
should mean? So they told them, that that man was 
the son of one Mr. Great-grace [of whom you read in 
the first part of the records of the Pilgrim's Progress]: 
and he is set there to teach pilgrims how to believe 
down, or to tumble out of their ways, what difficulties 
they should meet with, by faith (Mark xi, 23, 24.) 
Then said Mr. Great -heart, I know him ; he is a man 
above many. 

Then they had them to another place, called mount 
Innocence : and there they saw a man clothed all in 
white ; and two men, Prejudice and Ill-will, continu- 
ally casting dirt upon him. Now, behold, the dirt, 
whatsoever they cast at him, would in a little time 
fall off again, and his garment would look as clear as 
if no dirt had been cast thereat. Then said the pil- 
grims, What means this ? The shepherds answered, 

* '•' Marvel" — Faith exercised on the promises, and according to the 
warrant of Scripture, engages the arm of Omnipotence on our side, as far' 
as our duty or advantage, and the glory of God are concerned : so that 
strong faith will remove out of our way every obsiacle which prevents our 
progress. But many things seem to us to be insurmountable obstacles, 
■which are merely trials of our patience, or " thorns in the flesh" to. keep us 
humble : no degree of faith, dierefore, wiilremove them ; but believing prayer 
will be answered by inward strength communicated to our souls. The 
grace of the Lord Jesus will be sufficient for us: his strength will be per- 
fected in our weakness : the burning bush shall not be consumed : and we 
shall be enabled to proceed, diough in great weakness, and with many 
trembling apprehensions. On the other hand, real hinderances frequently 
obstruct our path, because of our unbelief, and because we neglect the 
proper means of increasing our faidi, (Matt xvii, 19—21.) The other 
emblems are sufficiently explained, and only require to be duly considered, 
with reference to their practical import. It may however be observed, 
that some godly men are durably suspected of crimes, charged upon them 
by prej udiced persons, of which they are entirely innocent : yet perhaps, 
this will be found to have originated from some misconduct in other res- 
pects, or from want of circumspection in " avoiding the appearance of 
evil :" so that the general rule may be allowed to be valid ; and they who 
feel themselves to be exceptions to it will do well to examine, whether they 
have not by indiscretions, at least, exposed themselves to this painful trial. 
I apprehend most of us have cause enough in this respect for humiliation 
and patience. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 351 

This man is named Godly-man, and the garment is to 
show the innocency of his life. Now those that throw 
dirt at him are such as hate his well-doing; but as 
you see the dirt will not stick upon his clothes, so it 
shall be with him that lives truly innocently in the 
world. Whoever they be that would make such men 
dirty, they labour all in vain ; for God, by that a little 
time is spent, will cause that their innocence shall 
break forth as the light, and their righteousness as 
the noon-day. 

Then they took them, and had them to mount 
Charity, where they showed them a man that had a 
bundle of cloth lying before him, out of which he cut 
coats and garments for the poor that stood about him ; 
yet his bundle or roll of cloth was never the less. 
Then said they, What should this be? This is, said 
the shepherds, to show you, that he that has a heart 
to give his labour to the poor, shall never want where- 
withal. " He that watereth, shall be watered him- 
self." And the cake, that the widow gave to the 
prophet, did not cause that she had ever the less in 
her barrel. 

• They had them also to the place, where they saw 
one Fool, and one Want-wit, washing of an Ethiopian, 
with an intention to make him white ; but the more 
they washed him, the blacker he was. Then they 
asked the shepherds, what that should mean? So 
they told them, saying, Thus shall it be with the vile 
person ; all means used to get such a one a good 
name, shall in conclusion tend but to make him more 
abominable. Thus it was with the pharisees, and so 
it shall be with all hypocrites. 

Then said Mercy, the wife of Matthew, to Christiana 
her mother, I would, if it might be, see the hole in the 
hill, or that commonly called the Ifye-way to hell. So 
her mother brake her mind to the shepherds (P. i, p. 
172.) Then they went to the door (it was on the side 
of a hill;), and they opened it, and bid Mercy hearken 
awhile. So she hearkened, and heard one saying, 
Cursed be my father, for holding of my feet back from 
the way of peace and life : and another said, O that 1 
had been torn in pieces, before I had, to save my life, 



352 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

lost my soul ! And another said, If I were to live 
again, how would I deny myself, rather than come to 
this place ! Then there" was as if the very earth 
groaned and quaked under the feet of this young wo- 
man for fear ; so she looked white, and came trem- 
bling away, saying, Blessed be he and she that is 
delivered from this place. 

Now when the shepherds had shown them all these 
things, then they had them back to the palace, and 
entertained them with what the house would afford : 
but Mercy being a young and breeding woman, longed 
for something that she saw there, but was ashamed to 
ask. Her mother-in-law then asked her what she 
ailed, for she looked as one not well? Then said 
Mercy, There is a looking-glass hangs up in the dining 
room, off which I cannot take my mind ; if, therefore, 
I have it not, I think I shall miscarry. Then said her 
mother, I will mention thy wants to the shepherds, 
and they will not deny it thee. But she said, I am 
ashamed that these men should know that I longed. 
Nay, my daughter, said she, it is no shame, but a vir- 
tue, to long for such a thing as that. So Mercy said, 
Then, mother, if you please, ask the shepherds if they 
are willing to sell it. 

Now the glass * was one of a thousand. It would 
present a man, one way, with his own features ex- 
actly; and turn it but another way, and it would show 
one the very face and similitude of the Prince of the 
pilgrims himself. Yes, I have talked with them that 
can tell, and they have seen the very crown of thorns 
upon his head, by looking in that glass ; they have 
therein also seen the holes in his hands, in his feet, 
and his side. Yea, such an excellency is there in 
that glass, that it will show him to one where they 
have a mind to see him ; whether living or dead, whe- 
ther in earth or in heaven ; whether in a state of 
humiliation, or in his exaltation ; whether coming to 



* " The glass"— The holy Scriptures, revealing to us the mysteries and 
perfections of God, showing us our own real character and condition, and 
discovering^ Christ and his salvation to our souls, are represented under this 
emblem. Every true believer longs to be more completely acquainted with 
them from day to day, and to look into them continually. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 353 

suffer, or coming to reign (James i, 23—25; 1 Cor. xiii, 
12; 2 Cor. iii, 18.) 

Christiana therefore went to the shepherds apart, 
(now the names of the shepherds were Knowledge, 
Experience, Watchful, and Sincere — (P. i, p. 169,) and 
said unto them, There is one of my daughters, a breed- 
ing woman, that, I think, doth long for something that 
she hath seen in this house, and she thinks she shall 
miscarry, if she should by you be denied. 

Exper. Call her, call her : she shall assuredly have 
what we can help her to. So they called her, and 
said .to her, Mercy, what is that thing thou would est 
have ? Then she blushed, and said, The great glass 
that hangs up in the dining-room. So Sincere ran 
and fetched it, and with a joyful consent it was given 
her, Then she bovv,ed her head, and gave thanks, and 
said, By this I know that I have obtained favour in 
your eyes. 

They also gave to the other young women such things 
as they desired, and to their husbands great commen- 
dations, for that they had joined with Mr. Great-heart, 
to the slaying of giant Despair, and the demolishing of 
Doubting Castle. About Christiana's neck the shep- 
herds put a bracelet, and so they did about the necks 
of her four daughters ; also they put ear-rings in their 
ears, and jewels on their foreheads. 
" When they were minded to go hence, they let them 
go in peace, but gave not to them those certain cau- 
tions which before were given to Christian and his 
companion. The reason* was, for that these had 

* " Reason"— The author embraces every opportunity of showing the 
important advantages of the pastoral office, when faithfully executed : by 
which he meant, the regular care of a stated minister over a company of 
professed Christians, who are Ms peculiar charge, have voluntarily placed 
themselves under his instructions, seek counsel from him in all their diffi- 
culties, and pay regard to his private admonitions ; being convinced that 
he uprightly seeks their spiritual welfare, and is capable of promoting it. 
Nothing so much tends to the establishment and consistent conduct of 
believers, or the permanent success of the Gospel, as a proper reciprocal 
attention of pastors and their flocks to each other. A general way of preach- 
ing and hearing, with little or no connexion, cordial unreserved intercourse, 
or even acquaintance between ministers and their congregations ; with con- 
tinual changes from one place to another, may tend to spread a superficial 
knowledge of evangelical truth more widely ; but through the want of sea- 
eonable reproof, counsel, encouragement, or admonition, the general direc- 
tions delivered from the pulpit will seldom be recollected when they are 
most wanted. Hence it is, that professors so often miss their way, are taken 



354 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Great-heart to be their guide, who was one that was 
well acquainted with things, and so could give them 
their cautions more seasonable ; to wit, even then when 
the danger was nigh the approaching. What cautions 
Christian and his companion had received of the shep- 
herds (P. i, p. 172,) they had also lost by that the time 
was come that the} 7 ' had need to put them in practice. 
Wherefore, here was the advantage that this company 
had over the other. 

From hence they went on singing, and they said, 

Behold, how fitly are the stages set 
For their relief that pilgrims are become, 
And how the}' - us receive without one let, 
That make the other life the mark and home. 

What novelties they have, to us they give, 
That we though pilgrims, joyful lives may live. 
They do upon us, too, such things bestow, 
That show we pilgrims are, where'er we go. 

When they were gone from the shepherds, they 
quickly came to the place where Christian met with 
one Turn-away, that dwelt in the town of Apostacy 
(Part i r p. 176.) Wherefore of him Mr. Great -heart, 
their guide, did now put them in mind, saying, Tins is 
the place where Christian met with one Turn-away, 
who carried w 7 ith him the character of his rebellion at 
his back. And this I have to say concerning this man ; 
he would hearken to no counsel, but, once a falling, 
persuasion could not stop him. When he came to the 
place where the cross and the sepulchre was, he did 
meet with one that did bid him look there ; but he 
gnashed with his teeth, and stamped, and said, he 
was resolved to go back to his own town. Before he 

in the Flatterer's net, and fall asleep on the enchanted ground : and a faith- 
ful guide, ever at hand, to give the caution or direction at the time, is the 
proper remedy, for which no adequate substitute can be found. But, as it is 
much easier to preach at large on general topics ; and after a few sermons 
delivered in one congregation, to go over the same ground again in another 
place than to perform duly the several parts of the arduous office, which is 
sustained by the stated pastor of a regular congregation : and as it is far 
more agreeable to nature, to be exempted from private admonitions than to 
be troubled with them : it may be feared, that tills important subject will 
cot at present be duly attended to. 






WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 355 

came to the gate he met with Evangelist, who offered 
to lay hands on him to turn him into the way again. 
But this Turn-away resisted him, and having done 
much despite unto him, he got away over the wall, and 
so escaped his hand. 

Then they went on ; and just at the place where 
Little-faith formerly was robbed, there stood a man 
with his sword drawn, and his face all bloody. Then 
said Mr. Great-heart, What art thou ? The man* made 
answer, saying, I am one whose name is Valiant-for- 
truth. I am a pilgrim, and am going to the Celestial 
city. Now, as I was in my way, there were three men 
that did beset me, and propounded unto me these 
three things : Whether I would become one of them : 
or go back from whence I came : or die upon the place ? 
To the first I answered, I had been a true man a long 
season, and therefore it could not be expected that I 
now should cast in my lot with thieves (Pro v. i, 10 — 19.) 
Then they demanded what I would say to the second. 
So I told them, the "place from whence I came, had I 
not found incommodity there, I had not forsaken it at 
all ; but finding it altogether unsuitable to me, and 
very unprofitable for me, I forsook it for this way. Then 
they asked me what I said to the third 1 And T told 
them, My life cost more dear far, than that I should 
lightly give it away : besides, you have nothing to do 
to put things to my choice ; wherefore at your peril be 
it if you meddle. Then these three, to wit, Wildhead, 

* " The man" — From the names afterwards given to the opponents, with 
whom this pilgrim fought, we may infer, that the author meant to represent 
by them certain wild .enthusiasts, who, not having ever duly considered any 
religious subject, officiously intrude themselves in the way of professors ; to 
perplex their minds, and persuade them, that unless theyadopt their reveries 
or superstitions, they cannot be saved. An ungovernable imagination, amind 
incapable of sober reflection, and a dogmatizing spirit, characterize these 
enemies of the truth, they assault religious persons with specious reasonings, 
cavilling objections, confident assertions, bitter reproaches, proud boastings, 
Barcastical censures, and rash judgments : they endeavour to draw them 
over to their party, or to drive them from attending to religion at all ; or to 
terrify them with the fears of damnation, in their present endeavours to 
serve God, and find his salvation. Whatever company of persons we 
Buppose that the author had in view, we may learn from the passage what 
our strength, hope, and conduct ought to be, when we are thus assaulted. 
The word of God used in faith, and with fervent and persevering prayer, 
will at length enable us to silence such dangerous assailants : and if we be 
valiant for the truth, and meekly contend for it, amidst revilings, menaces, 
and contempt, we may hope to confirm others also, and to promote the 
common cause. 



356 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Inconsiderate, and Pragmatick, drew upon me, and I 
also drew upon them. So we fell to it, one against 
three, for the space of three hours. They have left 
upon me, as you see, some of the marks of their valour, 
and have also carried away with them, some of mine. 
They are but just now gone ; I suppose they might, as 
the saying is, hear your horse dash, and so they betook 
themselves to flight. 

Gr.-h. But here was great odds, three against one. 

Yah Tis true, but little or more are nothing to 
him that has the truth on his side : " Though an host 
should encamp against me," said one, " my heart shall 
not fear: though war shall rise against me, in this 
will I be confident," &c. Besides, said he, I hare read 
in some records that one man has fought an army; 
and how many did Sampson slay with the jaw-bone 
of an ass ? 

Then said the guide, Why did you not cry out, that 
some might have come in for your succour ? 

Vol. So I did to my King, who I knew could hear me, 
and afford invisible help, and that was enough for me. 

Then said Great-heart to Mr. Valiant-for-truth, Thou 
hast worthily behaved thyself; let me see thy sword: 
so he showed it to him. When he had taken it into 
his hand, and looked thereon awhile, he said, Ha ! it 
is a right Jerusalem blade. 

Yah It is so. Let a man have one of these blades, 
with a hand to wield it, and skill to use it, and he may 
venture upon an angel with it. He need not fear its 
holding, if he can but tell how to lay on. Its edge will 
never blunt. It will cut flesh and bones, and soul and 
spirit and all. 

Gr.-h. But you fought a gTeat while ; I wonder you 
was not weary. 

Val. I fought till my sword did cleave to my hand, 
and then they were joined together, as if a sword grew 
out of my arm ; and when the blood run through my 
fingers, then I fought with most courage. 

Gr.-h. Thou hast done well; thou hast "resisted 
unto blood, striving against sin ;" thou shalt abide by 
us, come in and go out with us, for we are thy com- 
panions. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 357 

Then they took him and washed his wounds, and 
gave him of what they had to refresh him ; and so they 
went together. Now as they went on, because Mr. 
Great-heart was delighted in him (for he loved one 
greatly that he found to be a man of his hands,) and 
because there were in company them that were feeble 
and weak, therefore he questioned with him about 
many things ; as, first, what countryman he was. 

Val. I am of Dark-land, for there I was born, and 
there my father and mother are still. 

Dark-land ! said the guide : doth not that lie on the 
same coast with the city of Destruction ? 

Val. Yes, it doth. Now that which caused me to 
come on pilgrimage was this : we had Mr. Tell-true 
came into our parts, and he told it about what Chris- 
tian had done, that went from the city of Destruction ; 
namely, how he had forsaken his wife and children, 
and had betaken himself to a pilgrim's life. It was 
also confidently reported, how he had killed a serpent, 
that did come out to resist him in his journey ; and how 
he got through to whither he intended. It was also 
told, what welcome he had to all his Lord's lodgings, 
especially when he came to the gates of the Celestial 
city ; for there, said the man, he was received with 
sound of trumpet, by a company of shining ones. He 
told it also, how all the bells in the city did ring for 
joy at his reception, and what golden garments he was 
clothed with ; with many other things that now I shall 
forbear to relate. In a word, that man so told the story 
of Christian and his travels, that my heart fell into a 
burning heat to be gone after him ; nor could father or 
mother stay me. So I got from them, and am come 
thus far on my way. 

Gr.-h. You came in at the gate, did you not ? 

Val. Yes, yes ; for the same man also told us, that 
all would be nothing, if we did not begin to enter this 
way at the gate. 

Look you, said the guide to Christiana, the pilgrim* 
age of your husband, and what he has gotten thereby, 
is spread abroad far and near. 

Val. Why, is this Christian's wife ? 

Gr.-h. Yes, that it is ; and these are also her four sons. 



oyful 
3t go 



359 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Vol. "What ! and going on pilgrimage too 1 

Gr.-h. Yes, verily, they are following after. 

Val. It glads me at heart ; good man, how joyful 
will he be, when he shall see them, that would not 
with him, to enter before him in at the gates into the 
Celestial city ! 

Gr.-h. Without doubt it will be a comfort to him ; 
for, next to the joy of seeing himself there, it will be 
a joy to meet there his wife and children. 

Val. But, now you are upon that, pray let me hear 
your opinion about it. Some make a question, whether 
we shall know one another when we are there. 

Gr.-h. Do they think they shall know themselves 
then, or that they shall rejoice to see themselves in 
that bliss 1 and if they think they shall know and do 
these, why not know others, and rejoice in their wel- 
fare also 1 A gam, since relations are our second self, 
though that state will be dissolved, yet why may it not 
be rationally concluded that we shall be more glad to 
see them there, than to see they are wanting ? 

Val. Well, I perceive whereabouts you are as to this. 
Have you any more things to ask me about my begin- 
ning to come on pilgrimage ? 

Gr.-h. Yes ; was your father and mother willing that 
you should become a pilgrim 1 

Val. Oh no ! they used all means imaginable to per- 
suade me to stay at home. 

Gr.-h. What could they say against it. 

Val. They said, it was an idle* life ; and, if I myself 
were not inclined to sloth and laziness, I would never 
countenance a pilgrim's condition. 

Gr.-h. And what did they say else ? 

Val. Why, they told me that it was a dangerous way; 
Yea, the most dangerous way in the world, say they, 
is that which the pilgrims go. 



• " Idle" — This hath been the reproach cast on religion in every age* 
Pharaoh said to Moses and the Israelites, " Ye are idle, ye are idle ; therefore 
ye say, let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord." Men namrally imagine, 
that time spent in the immediate service of God is wasted: should a pro- 
fessor therefore employ as many hours every week, in reading the Scrip- 
tures, in secret and social prayer, in pious discourse, and in attending on 
public ordinances, as his neighbour devotes to amusement and sensual 
indulgence ; an outcry would "speedily be made, about bis idling away hi* 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 359 

Gr.-h. Did they show you wherein this way is dan- 
gerous 1 

Vol. Yes ; and that in many particulars. 

Gr.-h. Name some of them. 

Val. They told me of the Slough of Despond, where 
Christian was well nigh smothered. They told me, that 
there were archers standing ready in Beelzebub-castle, 
to shoot them who should knock at the wicket-gate for 
entrance. They told me also of the wood and dark 
mountains, of the hill Difficulty, of the lions ; and also 
of the three giants, Bloodyman, Maul, and Slaygood ; 
they said, moreover, that there was a foul fiend haunt- 
ed the valley of Humiliation ; and that Christian was 
by him almost bereft of life. Besides, said they, you 
must go over the valley of the Shadow of Death, where 
the hobgoblins are, where the light is darkness, where 
the way is full of snares, pits, traps, and gins. They 
told me also of giant Despair, of Doubting-castle, and 
of the ruin that the pilgrims met with there. Farther, 
they said I must go over the Enchanted Ground, which 
was dangerous. And that after all this I should find 
a river over which I should find no bridge ; and 
that that river did lie betwixt me and the Celestial 
country. 

Gr.-h. And was this all ? 

Val. No ; they also told me, that this way was full 
of deceivers ;* and of persons that lay in wait there, 
to turn good men out of their path. 



time, and being; in the way to beggar his family. As this- must be expected, 
it behoves all believers to avoid every appearance of evil, and by exemplary 
diligence in their proper employments, a careful redemption of time, a pru- 
dent frugality in their expenses, and a good management of all their affairs, 
to " put "to silence the ignorance of foolish men. B For there are too many 
favourers of the Gospel, who give plausibility to these slanders, by running 
from place to place, that they may hear every new preacher; while the 
duty of die family, and of their station in the community is miserably 
neglected. They " walk disorderly, working not at all, but are busy bodies:-"* 
from these we ought to withdraw, and against such professors we should 

Jrotest; for they are " ever learning, but never able to come to the know- 
rige of the truth. " 

kU . Deceivers"— Worldly people, in opposing die Gospel, descant abun- 
dantly on the folly and hypocrisy of religions persons ; they pick up every 
■Vague report that they hear to their disadvantage, and narrowly watch for 
the halting of such as they are acquainted with ; and then they form gene* 
ral conclusions, from a few particular, distorted, and uncertain stories, 
Thus they endeavour to prove, that there is no reality in religion, that it is 
impossible to find the way to heaven, aad that it is better >o be quiet Uian- to 



360 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 






Gr.-h. But how did they make that out ? 

Vol. They told me that Mr. World! y-wiseman did 
lie there in wait to deceive. They also said, that 
there was Formality and Hypocrisy continually on th£ 
road. They said also, that By-ends, Talkative, 01 
Demas, would go near to gather me up : that the Flat 
terer would catch me in his net ; or that, with greer 
headed Ignorance, I wouldpresume to go on to the gate, 
from whence he was sent back to the hole that was in 
the side of the hill, and made to go the by-way to hell. 

Gr.-h. I promise you, this was enough to discourage 
thee. But did they make an end there' 1 

Vol. No, stay. They told me also of many that 
tried that way of old, and that had gone a great wa} 
therein, to see if they could find something of the glorj 
then, that so many had so much talked of from time tc 
time ; and how they came back again, and befoolec 
themselves for setting a foot out of doors in that path, 
to the satisfaction of the country. And they namec 
several that did so, as Obstinate and Pliable, Mistrust 
and Timorous, Turnaway and old Atheist, with several 
more ; who, they said, had some of them gone far to 
see what they could find ; but not one of them found 
so much advantage by going, as amounted to the weight 
of a feather. 

Gr.-h. Said they any thing more to discourage you? 

Vol. Yes ; they told me of one Mr. Fearing, who 
was a pilgrim ; and how he found his way so solitary, 
that he never had a comfortable hour therein : also 
that Mr. Despondency had like to have been starved 
therein ; yea, and also, (which I had almost forgot,) 
Christian himself, about whom there has been such a 
noise, after all his ventures for a celestial crown, was 
certainly drowned in the black river, and never went 
a foot farther : however, it was smothered up. 

bestow pains to no purpose. This frivolous sophistry is frequently em- 
ployed, after all other arguments have been silenced. But it is vain to 
deny the existence of hypocrites and deceivers : or to excuse the evils to 
which they object : on the contrary, we should allow these representations, 
as far as there is any appearance of truth in them, and then show that thia 
teaches us to beware lest we be deceived, and to try every doctrine by the 
touchstone of God's word: that counterfeits prove the value of the thin? 
counterfeited : that we should learn to distinguish between the precious and 
the vile ; and, finally, that while danger may attend a religious profession, 
irreligion ensures destruction, 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 361 

€r.-h. And did none of these things discourage you? 

Val. No ; they seemed as so many nothings to me. 

Gr.-h. How came that about 1 

Val. Why, I still believed what Mr. Tell-true had 
said, and that carried me beyond them all. 

Gr.-h. Then this was your victory, even your faith? 

Val. It was so ; I believed, and therefore came out, 
got into the way, fought all that set themselves against 
me, and, by believing, am come to this place. 

Who would true valour see 

Let him come hither : 
One here will constant be, 

Come wind, come weather; 
There's no discouragement 
Shall make him once relent 
His first avow'd intent, 

To be a pilgrim. 
Who so beset him round 

With dismal stories, 
Do but themselves confound, 

His strength the more is. 
No lion can him fright ; 
He'll with a giant fight 
But he will have a right 

To be a pilgrim. 

Hobgoblin nor foul fiend 

Can daunt his spirit : 
He knows, he at the end 

Shall life inherit. 
Then fancies fly away, 
He'll not fear what men say, 
He'll labour night and day 

To be a pilgrim. 

By this time they were got to the Enchanted Ground, 
where the air* naturally tended to make one drowsy 
(Part i,p. 199—208 ;) and that pWce was all grown over 
with briars and thorns, excepting nere and there, where 

* " Air" — The subsequent view of the Enchanted Ground seems rather 
to vary from that which has been considered in the first part. The circum*- 
gtances of believers who are deeply engaged in business, and constrained to 
spend much time among worldly people is here particularly intended. Ths 
may sometimes be unavoidable ; but it is enchanted ground : many profes- 
sors, fascinated by the advantages and connexions thus presented to them, 
fall asleep, and wake no more : others are entangled by those thorns and 
briars, which "choke the word, and render it unfruitful." The, mnre 
soothing the scene the greater the danger, and the more urgeni need is these 
L IB 



T 



362 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

was an enchanted arbour, upon which if a man sits,, 
or in which if a man sleeps, 'tis a question, say some, 
whether ever he shall rise or wake again in this world. 
Over this forest therefore they went, both one and 
another; and Mr. Great-heart went before, for that he 
was the guide, and Mr. Valiant-for-truth came behind,, 
being rear-guard;, for fear lest perad venture some 
fiend, or dragon, or giant, or thief, should fall upon 
their rear and so do mischief. They went on here 
each man with his sword drawn in his hand, for they 
knew it was a dangerous place. Also they cheered up 
one another, as well as they could ; Feeble-mind, Mr. 
Great-heart commanded, should come up after him, 
and Mr. Despondency was under the eye of Mr. Valiant. 

Now they had not gone far, but a great mist and dark- 
ness fell upon them all ; so that they could scarce, for 
a great while, one see the other ; wherefore they were- 
forced, for some time, to feel for one another bywords,. 
for they walked not by sight. But any one must think 
that here was but sorry going for the best of them all; 
but how much the worse was it for the women and 
children, who both of feet and heart also were but ten- 
der ! Yet nevertheless so it was, that through the 
encouraging words of him that led in the front, and of 
him that brought them up behind, they made a pretty- 
good shift to wag along. 

The way was also here very wearisome, through dirt 
and slabbiness. Nor was there, on all this ground, so 
much as one inn or victualling-house, therein to refresh. 

for watchfulness and circumspection : the more vigilant believers are, the 
greater uneasiness will such scenes occasion them ; as they will be so long 
out of their proper element : and the weaker and more unestablished men 
are, the more apt will they be in such circumstances to yield to discourage- 
meiu. The society and counsel of faithful ministers and Christian friends 
may help diem ta get on : but they will often feel that their path is miry and 
slippery, entangling and perplexing, dark and wearisome to their souls. 
Yet it" this be the case, their sighs, complaints, and prayers, are hopeful 
symptoms: butwhea worldly employments and connexions, which per- 
haps at first were in a sense unavoidable, induce prosperity ; and men seek, 
comfort from this prosperity, instead of considering it as a snare or bur- 
then, or improving it as a talent; then the professor falls asleep in the' 
enchanted arbour. It behoves, however, all who love their souls, to shun) 
that hurry of business, and multiplicity of affairs and projects, into which? 
many are betrayed by degrees, in order to supply increasing expenses, that 
might be avoided by strict frugality, and more moderate desires : for they 
lade the soul with thick clay ; are a heavy weight to the most upright ; ren- 
der a man's way doubtful and joyless t aad " dxawn. many iu desttu3tiou 
aadptcdiuoit.' > 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 363 

the feebler sort. Here therefore was grunting, and; 
puffing, and sighing ; while one tumbleth over a bush, 
another sticks fast in the dirt ; and the children, some 
of them, lost their shoes in the mire : while one cries 
out, I am down ; and another, Ho, where are you 1 And 
a third, The bushes have got such fast hold on me, I 
think I cannot get away from them. 

Then they came to an arbour, warm, and promising" 
much refreshing to the pilgrims : for it was finely 
wrought above head, beautified with greens, furnished 
with benches and settles. It had in it a soft couch, 
where the weary might lean. This, you must think, 
all things considered, was tempting; for the pilgrims 
already began to be foiled with the badness of the way ; 
"but there was not one of them that made so much as a 
motion to stop there. Yea, for aught I could perceive, 
they continually gave so good heed to the advice of 
their guide, and he did so faithfully tell them of dan- 
gers, and of the nature of dangers, when they were at 
them, that usually, when they were nearest to them, 
they did most pluck up their spirits, and hearten one 
another to deny the flesh. The arbour was called, the 
slothful's friend,on purpose to allure, if it might be, some 
of the pilgrims there to take up their rest when weary. 

I saw then in my dream, that they went on in this 
their solitary ground, till they came to a place at which 
a man is apt to lose^ his way. Now, though when it 
was light, their guide could well enough tell how to 
miss those ways that led wrong, yet in the dark he was 
put to a stand : but he had in his pocket a map of ail 
ways leading to or from the celestial city ; wherefore he 
struck a light (for he never goes also without his tinder- 
box,) and takes a view of his book or map, which bids 
him be careful, in that place, to turn to the right-hand. 
And had he not here been careful to look in his map, 
they had in all probability been smothered in the mud; 
for just a little before them, and that at the end of the 

* " Lose" — This emblem inculcates the duty of constant attention to the 
precepts and counsels of Scripture, as well as reliance on its promises ; and 
of an habitual application to the Lord by prayer, to teach us die true mean- 
ins of his word, mat we may learn die way of peace and safer/, in die most 
difficult and doubtful cases ; and die advantage of consulting such minis- 
ters, as are most experieuraliu the ways of God, and most con veraaut wilia 
iks sacred oracles. 



364 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

cleanest way too, was a pit, none knows how deep, full 
of nothing but mud, there made on purpose to destroy 
the pilgrims in. 

Then thought I with myself, who that goeth on pil- 
grimage, but would have one of these maps about him, 
that he may look when he is at a stand, which is the 
way he must take. 

They went on, then, in this Enchanted Ground, till 
they came to where there was another arbour, and it 
was built by the highway-side. And in that arbour 
there lay two men,* whose names were Heedless and 
Too-bold. These two went thus far on pilgrimage ; 
but here, being wearied with their journey, sat down 
to rest themselves, and so fell fast asleep. When 
the pilgrims saw them, they stood still, and shook 
their heads ; for they knew that the sleepers were 
in a pitiful case. Then they consulted what to do, 
whether to go on and leave them in their sleep, or 
step to them and try to awake them. So they con- 
cluded to go to them and awake them ; that is, if they 
could ; but with this caution, namely, to take heed that 
themselves did not sit down nor embrace the offered 
benefit of that arbour. 

So they went in, and spake to the men, and called 
each by his name (for the guide, it seems, did know 
them,) but there was no voice nor answer. Then the 
guide did shake them, and do what he could to dis- 
turb them. Then said one of them, I will pay you 
when I take my money. At which the guide shook 
his head. I will fight so long as I can hold my sword 
in my hand, said the other. At that, one of the chil- 
dren laughed. 

* " Two men" — Such men as take up a profession of the Gospel in a 
heedless manner, and proceed with an overbearing confidence, the result 
of pride and ignorance, may long maintain a form of godliness, though it 
be a weariness' to them : but after a time, they will gradually be drawn 
back into the world, retaining nothing of their religion, except certain dis- 
torted doctrinal notions. They find excuses for their conduct from false 
maxims, and bad examples : they fall asleep in the arms of worldly pros- 
perity : nothiug can awaken them to fear, or self-suspicion ; but they will, 
as it were, talk in their sleep about religion, in so incoherent a manner, as 
to excite the laughter of children ; while they who understand the case will 
bewail their deplorable delusion. Such awful examples should excite us to 
redoubled diligence, in searching the Scriptures, and in prayer, lest we too 
Ehould be overcome with a destructive sleep, and perish in diis fascinating 
way. For scenes of worldly prosperity have detected the hypocrisy ot 
many, who have long persevered in an unsuspected profession! amidst di£ 
equities and trials. 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. S65 

Then said Christiana, What is the meaning of this ? 
Then the guide said,~They talk ill their sleep ; if you 
do strike them, or beat them, or whatever else you do 
unto them, they will answer you after this fashion ; 
or, as one of them said m old time, when the waves 
of the sea did beat upon him, and he slept as one upon 
the mast of a ship, " When I do awake, I will seek it 
yet again" (Prov. xxiii, 34, 35.) You know, when men 
talk in their sleep, they say any thing, but their words 
are not governed either by faith or reason. There is 
an incoherency in their words now ; even as there was 
before, betwixt their going on pilgrimage and their sit- 
ting down here. This then is the mischief on't, when 
heedless ones go on pilgrimage ; twenty to one but 
they are served thus. For this Enchanted Ground is 
one of the last refuges that the enemy to pilgrims has ; 
wherefore it is, as you see, placed almost at the end 
of the way, and so it standeth against us with the 
more advantage. For when, thinks the enemy, will 
these fools be so desirous to sit down, as when they 
are weary ? And at what time so likely for to be 
weary, as when they are almost at their journey's end? 
Therefore it is, I say, that the Enchanted Ground is 
placed so nigh to the land Beulah, and so near the end of 
their race. Wherefore let pilgrims look to themselves, 
lest it happen to them as it has done to these, that, as 
you see, are fallen asleep, and none can awake them. 

Then the pilgrims desired, with trembling, to go for- 
ward ; only they prayed their guide to strike a light, 
that they might go the rest of their way by the help of 
the light of a lantern. So he struck a light, and they 
went by the help of that through the rest of this way, 
though the darkness was very great (2 Pet. i, 19.) 

But the children began to be sorely weary ; and they 
cried out unto him that loveth pilgrims, to make their 
way more comfortable. So by that they had gone a 
little further, a wind arose, that drove away the fog ; 
so the air became more clear. Yet they were not off, 
by much, of the Enchanted Ground, but only now they 
could see one another better, and also the way wherein 
they should walk. 

Now when they were almost at the end of this 
ground, they perceived, that a little before them was a 



366 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

solemn noise of one that was much concerned. So they 
went on, and looked before them : and behold they saw, 
as they thought, a man upon his knees,* with hands 
and eyes lifted up, and speaking, as they thought, ear- 
nestly to one that was above. They drew nigh, but 
could not tell what he said ; so they went softly till 
he had done. When he had done, he got up, and began 
to run towards the celestial city. Then Mr. Great-heart 
called after him, saying, Soho, friend, let us have your 
company, if you go, as I suppose you do, to the celes- 
tial city. So the man stopped, and they came up to j 
him : but so soon as Mr. Honest saw him, he said, I 
know this man. Then said Mr. Valiant-for-truth, I 
Pry thee, who is it ! 'Tis one, said he, that comes from 
whereabouts I dwelt : his name is Standfast ; he is 
certainly a right good pilgrim. 

So they came up to one another ; and presently Stand- 
fast said to old Honest, Ho ! father Honest, are you 
there ? Ay, said he, that I am, as sure as you are there. 
Right glad am I, said Mr. Standfast, that I have found 
you on this road. And as glad am I, said the othei 
that I spied you on your knees. Then Mr. Standfas 
blushed, and said ; But why, did you see me ? Yes, thai 
I did, quoth the other, and with my heart was glad at 
the sight. Why, what did you think? said Standfast. 
Think ! said old Honest, what should I think ? I thought 
we had an honest man upon the road, therefore should 
have his company by-and-by. If you thought not amiss, 
how happy am I : but, if I be not as I should, 'tis I 
alone must bear it. That is true, said the other ; but 
your fear doth farther confirm me, that things are right 
betwixt the Prince of pilgrims and your soul : for he 
saith, " Blessed is the man that feareth always." 

Val. Well, but brother, I pray thee tell us, what was 
it that was the cause of thy being upon thy knees even 
now ? Was it for some obligations laid by special mer- 
cies upon thee, or how ! 

St. Why, we are, as you see, upon the Enchanted 
Ground ; and as I was coming along, I was musing with 
myself of what a dangerous nature the road in this place 

* " Knees"— The case of Standfast shows us, that, when believers feel the 
propensity of their hearts to yield to worldly proposals, it renders them 
jealous of themselves, excites them to earnest prayer, and thus eventuallj 
tends to preserve them from the fatal delusions, 



WITH SCOTTS NOTES. 367 

was *, and how many, that had come even thus far on 
pilgrimage, had here been stopt and been destroyed. I 
thought also of the manner of death, with which this 
place destroyeth men. Those that die here, die of no 
violent distemper : the death which such do die is not 
grievous to them ; for he that goeth away in- a sleep, 
begins that journey with desire and pleasure : yea, such 
acquiesce in the will of that disease. 

Then Mr. Honest, interrupting of him, said, Did you 
see the two men asleep in the arbour 1 

St. Ay, ay, I saw Heedless and also Too-bold there ; 
and, for aught I know, that there they will lie until 
they rot (Prov. x, 7 :) but let me go on with my tale. 
As I was thus musing, as I said, there was one in plea- 
sant attire, but old, who presented herself unto me. and 
offered me three things ; to wit, her body, her purse, 
and her bed. Now the truth is, I was both weary and 
sleepy : I am also as poor as an owlet, and that perhaps 
the witch knew. Well, I repulsed her once and twice ; 
but she put by my repulses and smiled. Then I began 
to be angry ; but she mattered that nothing at all. 
Then she made offers again, and said, If I would be 
ruled by her, she would make me great and happy ; 
for, said she, I am the mistress of the world, and men 
are made happy by me. Then I asked her name, and 
she told me it was Madam Bubble. This set me far- 
ther from her ; but she still followed me with entice- 
ments. Then I betook me, as you see, to my knees, 
and with hands lifted up, and cries, I prayed to him, 
that had said he would help. So just as you came up, 
the gentlewoman went her way. Then I continued to 
give thanks for this great deliverance ; for I verily be- 
lieve she intended no good, but rather sought to make 
a stop of me in my journey. 

Hon. Without doubt her designs were bad. But stay, 
now you talk of her, methinks I either have seen her, 
or have read some story of her. 

St. Perhaps you have done both. 

Hon. Madam Bubble ! Is she not a tall, comely dame, 
something of a swarthy complexion 1 

St. Right, you hit it, she is just such a one. 

Hon. Doth she not speak very smoothly, and give 
you a smile at the end of every sentence 1 



363 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

St. You fall right upon it again, for these are her 
very actions. 

Hen. Doth she not wear a great purse by her side ? 
and is not her hand often in it fingering her money, as 
if that was her heart's delight 1 

St. 'Tis just so : had she stood by all this while, you 
could not more amply have set her forth before me, 
and have better described her features. 

Hon. Then he that drew her picture was a good 
limner, and he that wrote of her said true. 

Gr.-lu This woman is a witch ; and it is by virtue of 
her sorceries that this ground is enchanted : whoever 
doth lay their head down in her lap, had as good lay it 
down upon that block over which the axe doth hang ; 
and whoever lays then eyes upon her beauty, are 
counted the enemies of God (James iv, 41 ; John ii, 14, 
15.) This is she that maintaineth in their splendour 
all those that are the enemies of pilgrims. Yea, this is 
she that hath brought off many a man from a pilgrim's 
life. She is a great gossippei ; she is always, both she 
and her daughters, at one pilgrim's heels or another, 
now commending, and then preferring the excellencies 
of this life. She is a bold and impudent slut ; she will 
talk with any man. She always laugheth poor pilgrims 
to scorn ; but highly commends the rich. If there be 
one cunning to get money in a place, she will speak 
well of him from house to house ; she loveth banquet- 
ing and feasting mainly well ; she is always at one full 
table or another ; she has given it out in some places 
that she is a goddess, and therefore some do worship 
her. She has her time and open places of cheating ; 
and she will say and avow it, that none can show a 
good comparable to hers. She promiseth to dwell 
with children's children, if they would but love and 
make much of her. She will cast out of her purse gold 
like dust, in some places, and to some persons. She 
loves to be sought after, spoken well of, and to lie in 
the bosoms of men. She is never weary of commend- 
ing her commodities, and she loves them most that 
think best of her. She will promise crowns and king- 
doms, if they will but take her advice : yet many hath 
she brought to the halter, and ten thousand times more 
to hell. 



WITS SCOTT'S NOTES. 369 

T>h ! said Standfast, what a mercy it is that I did re- 
sist her ! for whither might she have drawn me 1 

Gr.-h. Whither! nay, none but God knows. But in. 
general, to be sure, she would have drawn thee into 
** many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in 
destruction and perdition" (1 Tim. vi, 9.) It was she 
that set Absalom against his father, and Jeroboam 
against his master. It was she that persuaded Judas to 
sell his Lord, and that prevailed withDemas to forsake 
the godly pilgrim's life : none can tell of the mischief 
that she doth. She makes variance betwixt rulers 
and subjects, betwixt" parents and children, betwixt 
neighbour and neighbour, betwixt a man and his wife, 
between a man and himself, betwixt the flesh and the 
Spirit. Wherefore, good master Standfast, be as your 
name is ; and " when you have done all, stand." 

At this discourse there was, among the pilgrims, a 
mixture of joy and trembling; but at length they brake 
out and sang — 

What danger is the pilgrim in ! 

How many are his foes ! 
How many ways there are to sin 

No living mortal knows. 
Some in the ditch spoiled are, j^ea can 

Lie tumbling in the mire : 
Some, though they shun the frying-pan, 
Do leap into the fire. 
After this, I beheld, until they were come unto the 
land of Beulah, where the sun shineth night and day 
(P. i, p. 208.) Here, because they were weary, they 
betook themselves awhile to rest: and because this 
country was common for pilgrims, and because. these 
orchards and vineyards that were here belonged to 
the king of the Celestial country, therefore they were 
licensed to make bold with any of his things. But a 
little while* soon refreshed them here ; for the bells 

* " Little while" — The lively exercise of faith and hope, the anticipation 
of heavenly felicity, and the consolations of the Holy Spirit, soon make the 
believer forget his conflicts and sorrows, or only remember them to enhance 
his grateful joy. The ensuing description represents the happy state of 
those that live iu places, favoured with many lively Christians, united in 
heart and judgment : and where instances of persons dying triumphantly 
are often reported or witnessed. It has frequently been observed, -that aged 
believers, in such circumstances, have been remarkably delivered from fears 
and temptations, and animated by the hopes and earnests of heaven ; so that 
while death seemed bitter to nature it became pleasant to the soul, to think 
of the joy and glory that would immediately follow it 

L2 16 * 



370 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

did so ring, and the trumpets continually sounding so 
melodiously, that they could not sleep ; and yet they 
received as much refreshing - , as if they slept their 
sleep never so soundly. Here also all the noise of 
them that walked in the street, was, More pilgrims are 
come to town. And another would answer, saying, 
And so many went over the water, and were let in at 
the golden gates to-day. They would cry again, There 
is now a legion of shining ones just come to town : by 
which we know that there are more pilgrims upon the 
'road ; for here they come to wait for them, and- com- 
fort them after their sorrow. Then the pilgrims got 
up and walked to and fro : but how were their eyes 
now filled with celestial visions 1 In this land, they 
heard nothing, saw nothing, felt nothing, smelt nothing, 
tasted nothing, that was offensive to their stomach or 
mind ; only, when they tasted of the water of the river, 
over which they were to go, they thought that tasted 
a little bitterish to the palate, but it proved sweet when, 
it was down. 

In this place there was a record kept of the names of 
them that had been pilgrims of old, and a history of all 
the famous acts that they had done. It was here also 
much discoursed, how the river to some has its flow- 
ings, and what ebbings it has had while others have 
gone over. It has been in a manner dry for some, while 
it has overflowed its banks for others. 

In this place the children of the town would go into 
the King's gardens, and gather nosegays for the pil- 
grims and bring them to them with affection. Here 
also grew camphire, and spikenard, saffron, calamus, 
and cinnamon, with all the tre^s of frankincense, myrrh, 
and aloes, with all the chief spices. With these tfie pil- 
grims' chambers were perfumed while they staid here; 
and with these were there bodies anointed to prepare 
thern to go over the river, when the time appointed was 
come. \ 

Now while they lay here, and waited for the good 
hour, there was a noise in the town, that there was a 
post* come from the Celestial city, with matters of 

* [ : A post"— These messengers seem to be merely emblems of the different 
diseases or decays, by which the Lord takes down die earthly tabernacle, 
•when he sees good to receive die souls of his people into his immediate pre- 
sence. In plain language, it was reported that Christiana was sick acd. 






WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. S71 

great importance to one Christiana, the wife of Chris- 
tian, the pilgrim. So inquiry was made for her, and 
the house was found out where she was : so the post 
presented her with a letter : the contents were : Hail, 
good woman ! I bring thee tidings, that the Master call- 
eth for thee, and expecteth that thou shouldest stand 
in his presence, in clothes of immortality, within these 
ten days. 

When he had read this letter to her, he gave her 
therewith a sure token that he was a true messenger, 
and was come to bid her make haste to be gone. The 
token was, an arrow sharpened with love, let easily 
into her heart, which, by degrees, wrought so effectually 
with her, that at the time appointed she must be gone. 

When Christiana saw that her time was come, and 
that she was the first of this company that was to go 
over, she called for Mr. Great-heart, her guide, and 
told him how matters were. So he told her, He was 
heartily glad of the news, and cou]d have been glad 
had the post come for him. Then she bid that he 
should give advice how all things should be prepared 
for her journey. So he told her, saying, thus and thus 
it must be ; and we that survive will accompany you 
to the river side. 

Then she called for her children, and gave them her 
blessing ; and told them, that she had read with com- 
fort the mark that was set in their foreheads, and was 
glad to see them with her there, and that they had kept 

near death, and she herself became sensible of her situation. The arrow 
sharpened by love, implies, that the time, manner, and circumstances of 
the believer's death are appointed by him, " who loved us, and gave him- 
self for us." He, as it were, says to the dying saint, It is I, be not afraid. 
The address made by Christiana to each of the company, and the circum- 
stances of her passing the river, are well deserving of attention : but require 
no comment. When such believers as have long walked honourably are 
enabled to bear a dying testimony to the truth, and to recommend die ways 
of the Lord with the last remains of their breath, a great effect will often be 
produced : but the confidence of some professors, in these circumstances, 
has a very different tendency. MaDy excellent persons, however, are inca- 
pacitated from speaking much in their last hours ; and we ought by no 
means to judge of men's characters on these grounds: for it is remarkable, 
that the Scripture is generally silent about the manner in which its worthies 
terminated their lives ; and "only a few exceptions are found to this rule. 
We are particularly instructed in the nature of their faith, and its effects 
upon their conduct during life ; and thence we may assuredly infer, that they 
died in the Lord, and entered into rest. The happy death of an eminent 
Christian is a loss to relatives and connexions, to the church and the com- 
munity : and in this view may be lamented : but it often yields great en- 
couragement to ministers and other spectators of the interesting scene, and 
excites their adoring praises and thanksgivings. 



S72 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

their garments so white. Lastly, she bequeathed to the 
poor that little she had, and commanded her sons and 
daughters to be ready against the messenger should 
come for them. 

When she had spoken these words to her guide and 
to her children, she called for Mr. Valiant-for-truth, and 
said unto him, Sir, )*ou have in all places showed your- 
self true-hearted ; be faithful unto death, and my King 
will give you a crown of life. I would also entreat you 
to have an eye to my children ; and if at any time you 
see them faint, speak comfortably to them. For my 
daughters, my sons' wives, they have been faithful, 
and a fulfilling of the promise upon them will be their 
end. But she gave Mr. Standfast a ring. 

Then she called for old Mr. Honest, and said of him, 
" Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile/' 
Then said he, I wish you a fair day, when you set out 
for Mount Zion, and* shall be glad to see that you go 
over the river dry-shod. But she answered. Come wet, 
come dry, I long to be gone ; for, however the weather 
is in my journey, I shall have time enough, when I come 
there, to sit down and rest me, and dry me. 

Then came in that good man Mr. Ready-to-halt, to see 
her. So she said to him, Thy travel hitherto has been 
with difficulty ; but that will make thy rest the sweeter. 
But watch and be ready ; for at an hour when you think 
not, the messenger may come. 

After him came in Mr. Despondency, and his daughter 
Much-afraid; to vdiom she said, You ought with thank- 
fulness for ever to remember your deliverance from 
the hand of giant Despair, and out of Doubting-castle. 
.. The effect of that mercy is, that you are brought with 
safety hither. Be yet watchful, and cast away fear ; 
be sober, and hope to the end. 

Then she said to Mr. Feeble-mind, Thou wast de- 
livered from the mouth of giant Slay-good, that thou 
mightest live in the light of the living for ever, and 
see the King with comfort ; only I advise thee to repent 
thee of thy aptness to fear and doubt of his goodness, 
before he sends for thee : lest thoushouldest, whenhe 
comes, be forced to stand before him, for that fault, 
with blushing. 

Now the day drew on, that Christiana must be gone. 



I 

Id 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. £73 

So the road was full of people, to see her take her 
journey. But behold, all the banks beyond the river 
were full of horses and chariots, which were come 
down from above to accompany her to the city gate. 
So she came forth, and entered the river, with a beckon 
of farewell to those that followed her to the river side- 
The last words that she was heard to say, were, I come, 
Lord, to be with thee, and bless thee. 

So her children and friends returned to their place, for 
that those that waited for Christiana had carried her 
out of their sight. So she went and called, and entered 
in at the gate, with all the ceremonies of joy that her 
husband Christian had entered with before her. 

At her departure the children wept. But Mr. Great- 
heart and Mr. Valiant played upon the well-tuned cym- 
bal and harp for joy. So all departed to their respective 
places. 

In process of time, there came a post to the town 
again, and his business was with Mr. Ready-to-halt. 
So he inquired him out, and said, I am come* to thee in 
the name of him whom thou hast loved and followed, 
though upon crutches : and my message is to tell thee, 
that he expects thee at his table, to sup with him in his 
kingdom, the next day after Easter : wherefore pre- 
pare thyself for thy journey. Then he also gavet him 
a token that he was a true messenger, saying, I have 
broken the golden bowl, and loosed the silver cord 
(Eccles. xii, 1 — 7.) 

After this, Mr. Ready-to-halt called for his fellow 
pilgrims, and told them, saying, I am sent for, and 
God shall surely visit you also. So he desired Mr. 
Valiant to make his will ; and because he had nothing; 
to bequeath to them that should survive him, but his 

* " Am come" — Evident decays of natural powers as effectually convince 
the observing person, that deadi approaches, as if a messenger had been 
eent to inform him.' But men in general cling to life, wilfully overlook 
euch tokens, and try to keep up to the last the vain hope of recovering; and 
others, by a' kind of cruel compassiort, soothe them in the delusion : so that 
numbers die suddenly of chronical disorders, even as if they had been shot 
through the heart. Perhaps, however, die author had some reference to diose 
inexplicable presages of death, which some persons evidently experience. 

f ' ' Gave'-'— The tokens are taken from a well-known portion of Scripture 
(Eccles. xii, 1 — 7;) but K would be inconsistent with the plan of diis work 
to enter on a particular explanation of them. The dealings of the LortJ 
are here represented as uniformly gende to the feeble, trembling, humble 
believers, and the circumgunces of their deaths comparatively encouraging 

L3 



374 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

crutches and liis good wishes, therefore thus he said 
These crutches I bequeath to my son that shall tread 
in my steps, with a hundred warm wishes that he may 
prove better than I have been. 

Then he thanked Mr; Great -heart for his conduct and 
kindness, and so addressed himself to his journey. 
When he came to the brink of the river, he said, Now I 
' shall have no more need of these crutches, since yonder 
are chariots and horses for me to ride on. The last 
words he was heard to say were, Welcome, life ! So he 
went his way. 

After this, Mr. Feeble-mind had tidings brought him, 
that the post sounded his horn at his chamber door. 
Then he came in, and told him, saying, I am come to 
tell thee, that thy master hath need of thee ; and that in 
a very little time thou must behold his face in bright- 
ness. And take this as a token of the truth of my mes- 
sage : " Those that look out at the windows shall be 
darkened." 

Then Mr. Feeble-mind called for his friends, and told 
them what errand had been brought unto him, and what 
token he had received of the truth of the message. 
Then he said, Since I have nothing to bequeath to any, 
to what purpose should I make a will 1 As for my 
feeble mind, that I will leave behind, for that I have 
no need of it in the place whither I go ; nor is it worth 
bestowing upon the poorest pilgrims ; wherefore, when 
I am gone, I desire that you, Mr. Valiant, would bury 
it in a dunghill. This done, and the day being come in 
which he was to depart, he entered the river as the rest: 
his last words were, Hold out, faith and patience. So 
he went over to the other side. 

When days had many of them passed away, Mr. 
Despondency was sent for ; for a post was come, and 
brought this message to him: , Trembling man, these 
are to summon thee to be ready with the King by the 
next Lord's day, to shout for joy, for thy deliverance 
from all thy doubtings. And, said the messenger, 
that my message is true, take this for a proof : so he 
gave a grasshopper to be a burthen unto him. Now 
Mr. Despondency's daughter, whose name was Much- 
afraid, said, when she had heard what was done, that 
she should go with her father. Then Mr. Despond- 



i 



WITH SCOTT'S NOTES. 375 

ency said to his friends, Myself and my daughter, you 
know what we have been, and how troublesomely we 
have behaved ourselves in every company ; my will, 
and my daughter's is, that our desponds and slavish 
fears be by no man ever received, from the day of our 
departure, for ever ; for I know that after my death, 
they will. offer themselves to others. For, to be plain 
with you, they are guests which we entertained when 
we first began to be pilgrims, and could never shake 
them off after ; and they will walk about and seek 
entertainment of the pilgrims ; but, for our sakes, shut 
the doors upon them. 

When the time was come for them to depart, they 
went up to the brink of the river, The last words of 
Mr. Despondency were, Farewell night ! Welcome day! 
His daughter went through the river singing, but none 
could understand what she said. 

Then it came to pass awhile after, that there was a 
post in the town, that inquired for Mr. Honest. So he 
came to his house, where he was, and delivered to his 
hands these lines : Thou art commanded to be ready 
against this day se'nnight, to present thyself before thy 
Lord, at his Father's house. And, for a token that my 
message is true, " All the daughters of music shall be 
brought low." Then Mr. Honest called for his friends, 
and said unto them, I die, but shall make no will. As 
for my honesty, it shall go with me ; let him that comes 
after be told of this. 

When the day that he was to be gone was come, he 
addressed himself to go over the river. Now the river 
at that time overflowed the banks in some places ; but 
Mr. Honest, in his life-time, had spoken to one Good- 
conscience to meet him there ; the which he also did, 
and lent bim his hand and so helped him over. The 
last words of Mr. Honest were, Grace reigns ! So he 
left the world. 

After this, it was noised about that Mr. Valiant-for- 
truth was taken with a summons by the same post as 
the other : and had this for a token that the summons 
was true, that his pitcher was broken at the fountain. 
When he understood it, he called for his friends, and 
told them of it. Then said he, I am going to my Fa- 
ther's ; and though with great difficulty I got hithei, 



376 THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

yet now I do not repent me of all the trouble I have 
been at to arrive where I am. My sword I give to him 
that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and my cou- 
rage and skill to him that can get ,it. My marks and 
scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me, that I 
have fought his battle, who now will be my rewarder. 

When the day that he must go hence was come, many 
accompanied him to the river side,. into which as he 
went he said, Death where is thy sting 1 and as he went 
down deeper he said, Grave, where is thy victory? So 
he passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him 
on the other side. 

Then there came forth a summons for Mr. Standfast. 
This Mr. Standfast was he that the pilgrims found upon 
his knees in the Enchanted Ground, and the post brought , 
it him open in his hands. The contents whereof were, 
that he must prepare for a change of life, for his Mas- 
ter was not willing that he should be so far from him, 
any longer. At this Mr. Standfast was put into a muse. 
Nay, said the messenger, you need not doubt of the 
truth of my message, for here is a token of the truth 
thereof; " Thy wheel is broken at the cistern." Then 
he called 'to him Mr. Great -heart, who was their guide, 
and said unto him, Sir, although it was not my hap to 
be much in your good company in the days of my pil- 
grimage, yet, since the time I knew you, you have been 
profitable to me. When I came from home, I left be- 
hind me a wife and five small children ; let me intreat 
you, at your return (for I know that you go and return 
to your Master's house in hopes that you may be a 
conductor to more of the holy pilgrims,) that you send 
to my family, and let them be acquainted with all that 
hath and shall happen unto me. Tell them, moreover, 
of my happy arrival at this place, and of the present 
and late blessed condition that I am in. Tell them also 
of Christian and Christiana his wife, and how she and 
her children came after her husband. Tell them also of 
what a happy end she made, and whither she is gone. 
I have little or nothing to send to my family, except it be 
my prayers and tears for them : of which it will suffice 
if you acquaint them, if peradventure they may prevail. 

When Mr. Standfast had thus set things in order, and 
the time being come for him to haste him away, he also 



WITH SCOTTS NOTES. . 377 

Went down to the river. Now there was a great calm 
at that time in the river ; wherefore Mr. Standfast, 
when he was about half way in stood awhile and talked 
to his compariions that had waited upon him thither : 
and he said, This river* has been a terror to many ; yea, 
the thoughts of it also have often frightened me ; now, 
methinks, I stand easy; my foot is fixed upon that on 
which the feet of the priests that bare the ark of the 
covenant stood, while Israel went over this Jordan 
(Josh, iii, 17.) .The waters indeed, are to the palate 
bitter, and to the stomach cold ; yet the thoughts of 
-what I am going to, and of the conduct that waits for 
me on the other side, doth lie as a glowing coal at my 
heart. I see myself now. at the end of my journey ; 
my toilsome days are ended. I am going to see that 
head that was crowned with thorns, and that face that 
was spit upon for me. I have formerly lived by hear- 
say and faith ; but now I go where I shall live by sight, 
and shall be with him in whose company I delight my- 
self. I have loved to hear my Lord spoken of; and 
wherever I have seen the print of his shoe in the earth, 
there I have coveted to set my foot too. His name 
has been to me as a civet box ; yea, sweeter than all 
perfumes. His voice to me has been most sweet ; and 
his countenance I have more desired than they that 
have most desired the light of the sun. His words I 
did use to gather for my food, and for antidotes against 
my faintings. He has held me, and has kept me from 
mine iniquities ; yea, my steps have been strengthened 
in his way. 

* " River" — This speech has been justly admired, as one of the most 
striking passages in the whole work : but it is so plain, that it only requires 
an attentive reader. It may, however, be worthy of oar observation, that 
in all the instances before us the pilgrims are represented as resting their 
only dependance, at the closing scene, on the mercy of God, through the 
righteousness and atonement of his Son: and yet recollecting their conscious 
integrity, boldness in professing and contending for the truth, love to the 
cause, example, and words of Christ, obedience to his precepts, delight in 
his ways, preservation from their own iniquities, and consistent behaviour, 
as evidences that their faith was living, and their hope warranted ; and in 
this way the retrospect conduced to their encouragement. Moreover they 
all concur in declaring, that while they left their infirmities behind them they 
would take their graces along with them, and that "their works would fol- 
low them." Thus the scriptural mean is exactly maintained, between those 
who place their supposed good works as the foundation of their hope ; and 
those, who would exclude even real good works from being so much as looked 
upon, as evidential of saving faith, or as in any way giving encouragement 
to the believer in his dying hour (2 Tim. iv, 6—8.) 
T 4 



378 ' THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, 

Now, while he was thus in discourse, his counte- 
nance changed ; his " strong man bowed under him :"" 
and, after he had said, Take me, for I come unto thee, 
he ceased to be seen of them. i 

But glorious* it was to see how the open region was 
filled with horses and chariots, with trumpeters and 
pipers, with singers and players on stringed instru- 
ments, to welcome the pilgrims as they went up, and 
followed one another in at the beautiful gate of the city. 

As for Christian's children, the four boys that Chris- 
tiana brought, with their wives and children, I did not 
stay where I was till the}" were gone over. Also, since 
I came away, I heard one say, they were yet alive, and 
so would be for the increase of the church in that place, 
where they were, for a time. 

Shall it be*my lot to go that way again, I may give 
those that desire it an account of what I here am silent 
about ; mean time, I bid my reader 

Farewell. 

* <: Glorious" — The view given in this place of the peaceful and joyful 
death of the pilgrims, cannot but affect every reader in some degree ; and 
many perhaps may be read}- to say, " Let me die the death of the righteous, 
and let my last end be like his." But, except they make it their principal 
concern to live the life of the righteous, such a wish will most probably be 
frustrated; and every hope grounded on it is evidently presumptuous, as 
the example of Balaam sufficiently proves. If any man therefore doubt 
whether this allegory do indeed describe the rise and progress of religion in 
the soul ; the beginning, continuance, and termination of the godly man's 
course to heaven ; let him diligently search the Scriptures, and fervently 
pray to God, from whom. alone " cozneth every good and perfect gift," to 
enable him to determine this question. But let such as own themselves to 
be satisfied that it does, beware lest they rest on this assent and notion, in 
the pleasure of reading an ingenious work on the subject, or in the ability 
of developing many of the author's emblems. Let them beware, lest they 
be fascinated, as it were, into a persuasion, that they actually accompany 
the pilgrims in the life of faith, and walking with God, in the same measure 
as they keep pace with the author, in discovering and approving the grand 
outlines of his plan. And let every one carefully examine his state, senti- 
: perience, motives, tempers, affections, and conduct, by the various 
characters, incidents, and observations, that pass under his review: assured 
that this is a matter of the greatest consequence. We ought not indeed to 
call any man master, or subscribe absolutely to all his sentiments, yet the 
diligent practical student of Scripture can scarcely doubt, but that the 
warnings, counsels, and instructions of this singular work, agree in general 
with that sacred touchstone ; or that characters and actions will at last be 
approved or condemned by the Judge of the world, in a great degree accord- 
ing to the sentence passed on them in this wise and faithful book. The 
Lord grant that both the writer and readers of these observations may " find 
mercy in that day," and be addressed in these gracious words " Come, ye 
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foun- 
dation of the world." 



INDEX 



Accommodation, of Scripture, dan- 
gerous, 252, note. 

Adam the first, 101, 102. 

Affections, false, 26. 266. Carnal, then- 
prevalence over reason, 5l. 

Age and youth, their different advan- 
tages, 327, 328. 

AgedChristians often experiencemuch 
peace and comfort, 168, n. 208, n. 

Anchor, golden, 291. 

Angels, guardian, 211, 212. 

Antinomianism, 316—319. 

Apollyon, meets Christian, 83. 298. 
Tempts, reproaches, and threatens 

, him, 85—87. Assaults him, 88. Is 
put to flight, 89. 

Apostates, 56. 104. 171. 172. Dying 
in Despair, 165. 

Apples, Eve's, 290. 

Appropriation, erroneous notion re- 
specting, 266, n. 

Arbour, on the hill Difficulty, 67. 271. 
On the enchanted ground, 363. 

Armoury at the house Beautiful, 80,81. 

Assurance not of the essence of faith, 
90, n. 316, n. Genuine, always ac- 
• companiedbyholy obedience, 166, n. 

Adieism, long hypocritical profession 
of the Gospel, not unlikely to issue 
in, 187, n. 

Atheist, derides Christian and Hope- 
ful, 188. Character of, probably 
taken from a particular person, 13. 

Backsliders, 91. 

Bath, the Interpreter's, 260. 

Beautiful, palace, 70. Christian enter- 
tained there, 73 — 82. Christiana, 
&c. entertained there, 277—292. 

Beekebub, his castle, 45. His dog, 
239—244. 

Believers, weak, 332, n. 

Beulah, country of, 208—210. 370. 

Bigotry, 173. 

Bloodv-man. See Grim. 

Brisk, Mr., visits Mercy, 283, 284. 

Bubble, Madam, assaults Standfast, 
367. Description and character of, 
368. 

Bunyan, Mr. , hisparents, 10, occupa- 
tion, ib. , early profligacy, ib. His 
life remarkably preserved, ib. His 
deep convictions and impressions, 
11,12. Reformation, 12. And con- 
version, 13. Assailed by the Ranters, 
ib. His perplexities and tempta- 
tions, 14. Joins a Baptist church, 
ib. Ordained, 15. Apprehended and 
tried for preaching contrary to law. 



15, 16. Confined in Bedford Ja8 
twelve years, 16. 21, n. Chosen 
pastor of the Baptist church at Bed- 
ford, 17. Liberated, ib. Settles at 
Bedford, 18. His death, ib. Family, 
19. Character, ib. 

Burthen, Christian's, 22. Not taken 
off at the wicket-gate, 47. Falls off 
at the cross, 60. , 

Business, danger of too much, 361, n. 

By-ends, Mr. , overtaken by Christian 
and Hopeful, 139. His kindred, 141. 
Religious principles, 141, 142. Left 
byChristian and Hopeful, 143. Over- 
taken by Hold : the- world, Money- 
love, and Save-all, ib. Gives them 
an account of Christian and Hope- 
ful, ib. Propounds a question to 
thein, which is answered by Money- 
love, 145, 146. They propose it to 
Christian and Hopeful, 148. Are 
silenced and put to shame by Chris- 
tian , 148, 149. Are fatally seduced, 
152. 

By-path meadow, 156. 

By-way, to hell, 172. 

Candour, false, 170, n. 

Caution, Mount, 170. 

Certificate, given in by Christian and 
Hopeful' at the celestial gate, 217, 
Christiana receives one from Secret, 
230. See Roll. 

Charity, her conversation with Chris- 
tian, 77, 79. Without judgment 

■ leads into errors, 111, n. 

Christ, how revealed to the soul, 118, 
119. 194, 195. 203. What meant 
by the expression, 118, n. 195, n. 
Effects of such a revelation, 196. 
Passed through Vanity fair, 127. 
His merits sufficient for all, though 

^ effectual only for some, 25S. His four 
kinds of righteousness, 264, 265. 

Children axe to be early commended 
to the Lord by prayer, 77. Duty 
of instructing them in religion, 281. 

Christian, his distress on account of 
his burthen, 22. Directed by Evan- 
gelist to the wicket- gate, 25. Falls 
into the slough of Despond, 29 — 31. 
Meets Worldly-wiseman, 33. Turns 
aside to go to Legality, 33. Met by 
Evangelist, 38—43. Admitted at the 
wicket-gate. 45. Entertained by the 
Interpreter, 48—59. Loses his bur- 
then at the cross, 60. Goes up the 
hill difficulty, 66. Sleeps in the ar- 
bour and loses his roll, 67. Returns 



880 



INDEX. 



and finds his roll. 68, 69. Enter- 
tained at the house Beautiful, 73 — 
82. Is armed, 82. Goes down into 
the valley of humiliation, 83. Meets 
Ap oily on . 84. His combat w itli him , 
88.295—297. His victory, 89. Passes 
through the valley of the shadow of 
death, 91— 97. Overtakes Faithful, 
98. Exposes Talkative, 109—120. 
He and Faithful overtaken by Evan- 

felist, 122. Arrive at Vanity, 124. 
'ersecuted there, 128—139. Is" joined 
by Hopeful, 139. Invited by Demas 
to a silver mine, 150. He and Hope- 
ful turn aside into By-path meadow, 
157. Are taken by giant Despair, 
and confined in Doubting-casde, 161 
—166. They escape, 167. Are en- 
tertained at die Delectable Moun- 
tains, 169 — 174. Drawn into a net 
by the Flatterer, 186. Are liberated 
and chastised by a shining one, 187. 
Pass over the Enchanted ground, 
189 — 208. Arrive in die country of 
Beulah,208,209. Come to the Black 
river, 211. Cross it and enter the 
celestial city triumphantly, 212 — 
218. Reports of, after his death. 
224—226. His ancestors, 321, 322.' 
See Faithful, and Hopeful. 

Christiana, Sagacity's account of her 
and her sons, 226—239. Her distress, 
227. He* dreams, 228, 229. Visit- 
ed by Secret, ib. By Timorous 
and Mercy, 231—234. Sets out on 
pilgrimage with her four sons and 
Mercy, 236. Passes the slough of 
Despond, 233. Admitted at the 
wicket-gate, 240. Assaulted by two 
men, 246. Entertained by the Inter- 
preter, 251 — 262. Attended on her 
journey by Great-heart, ib. Arrives 
at the cross, ib. Goes up the hill 
Difficulty, 271, 272. Entertained at 
the house Beautiful, 277—292. Pass- 
es through the valley of humiliation, 
294—293. And the valley of die Sha- 
dow of Death , 299—303. Entertain- 
ed by Gains, 320—334. Arrives at 
Vanity, 337. Entertained there by 
Mnason, 337 — 343. Comes to the 
River of die Water of Life, 343. En- 
tertained at the Delectable Moun- 
tains, 348— £53. Crosses the En 
chanted ground, 361—369. Arrives 
in the country of Benlah, 370. Re- 
ceives a summons to go to the Celes 
tial city, 371. Prepares to obey it 
372. Her address to her childrer 
and companions, 372, 373. Passes 
the Black river, and is received at 
the Celestial city, 373. 

Civility, son of Legality, 37. 42. 

Clergy, that they are gentlemen by 



profession, a dangerous idea, 150, 
151, n. 

Clear, mount, 173. 

Comfort, not to be too hastily admin- 
istered, 39, n. 287. In what manner, 
43, n. 341, n. Difference between a 
young convert's and an established 
Christian's, 49, n. Source of genu- 
ine, 43, n. 60, 61. 69, n. 83, n. Ge- 
nuine, distinguished from false, 60, 
n. Not, in itself, a ground of con- 
fidence, 197. 

Communion of saints, 70, n. 73—80, 
n. Admission to, 71. 

Conflict, the Christian's inward, 54. 
Outward, 55. 

Conviction of sin, 21, 22. 191. 

Conversion ; circumstances attending 
it are of little moment, 259, 260. 

Corn-field, an emblem, 254. 

Covetousness, 143. 

Cross, the, 60. 262. 

Death, represented by a river without 
a bridge, 212—214. Tear of, how 
overcome, 212. Meeting it with 
composure, no proof of a safe state, 
218. Often most peaceful^ to die 
most timid, 314. 

Debts, unjust to contract diem by false 
appearances of affluence, 150, n. Ill 
effects of ministers contractingthem, 
151, n. 

Deceivers, folly of neglecting religion 
for fear of being led away by them, 
359, n. 

Delectable Mountains, 81. 168—174. 
343—354. 

Demas, invites Christian and Hopeful 
to turn aside to a silver mine, 150. 
His pedigree, 152. Seduces By-ends 
&c. , ib. 

Desire of grace is grace, an ambigu- 
ous and improper expression, 197, n. 

Despair represented by an iron cage, 
56. How far a believer may fall 
under its power, 161, n. Giant, 
takes Christian and Hopeful prison- 
ers, 161. His crueltyto them, 162 — 
165. His fits, 162. Men whose eyes 
had been put out by him, 172. Slain 
by Great-heart and his companions, 
345. 

Despond, slough of, 29-32. 233, 239. 
Steps over, 32. All pass it, 32, n. 
Grew worse after Christian passed 
it, 238. 

Despondency, whence it arises, 22. 30, 
n. 32, n. How to be removed, 43. 
Represented by a quag, 93. Mr. 
and his daughter Much-afraid, res- 
cued from "Doubting-castle, 346. 
Pass the Black river, 375. 

Destruction, city of, 22, n. 99. 224. 



INDEX. 



381 



Pifficulty, the hill, 66. 269. 

Diffidence, giant Despair's wife, 161. 
Slain by Honest, 216. 

Discontent, 104. 

-Discretion, her discourse with Chris- 
tian, 75. 

Disloyalty, charged upon professors 
of the Gospel, 133. Ill effects of, 
in them, 133, n. 

Dissenters, their successful opposition 
to popery, in the last century, 18, 
311, n. Persecution of them in the 
last century, 15 — 17. The initil- 
gence, granted them by James II. 18. 

Distress^ needless, 236, n. Often fol- 
lows long after the commission of 
of sin, 236. How to be removed, 
286. Folly of neglecting religion. 
for fear of temporary, 302, n. 

Dog at the wicket-sate, 239. 243. 244. 

Doubt'm?-castle, 100— 167. Demolish 
ed by Great-heart, &c. , 346, 

Dreams, of the day of judgment, 12. 
58. Christiana's, 228. 243, Ivler 
cy's, 278. 3?9. How far to be re- 
garded, 223, n. 278. 

Ease, the plain, 149. 

Enchanted ground, 189—208. 361— 

365. 
Enthusiasm, 60, n. 118, n. 195, n. 228, 

n. 259, n. 
Envy, his testimony against Faithful, 

132, 133. Auswered, 135. 
Error, mount, 170, 171. No errors 

harmless or innocent, 170, n. 
Evangelist meets Christian. 24. Again, 

38. DvertakeshimandFaithful,122. 
Evidences. See Grace. 
Examination, self, importance of, 276. 
Experience, Christiau relates his, 74— 

78. Hopeful's, 190— 196. Of believ- 
ers, a useful study, 276. 

Faint-heart, Mistrust, and Guilt, rob 
Little-faith, 177. Conversation con- 
cerning them, between Christian 
and Hopeful, 178—184. 

Fairs, their pernicious effects, 124, n. 
See Vanity. 

Faith, human and divine, 135, n. Na- 
ture of, 194, 195. 198. 162. Igno- 
rance's, 199. Dead and living, 114, 
n. 166, n. Erroneous statement of, 
229, n. 245. 259, n. 266, 267, a. 

Faithful, joined by Christian, 98. 
Gives an account of his pilgrimage, 
99—108. Beguiled by Talkative, 
109 — 111. Undeceived by Christian, 
112—116. Proposes a question to 
Talkative, and refutes his answers, 
116. 117. Answers it himself, and 
makes an application to Talkative's 
conscience, 118— 120. He and Chris 



tian overtaken by Evangelist, 122. 
Arrive at the town of Vanity, 124. 
Are persecuted there, 123 — 138. Re- 
plies to his indictment, 132. Answers 
the charges brought against him, 
13-5. Condemned and put to death,. 
138. See Christian. 

Fear, nature and advantage of right, 
24, n. 204. 242. 316. '343. Mistakes 
concerninff, 61, n. 67. 166,315. 347, 
348. Of men, 206. Different kinds 
of, 29, n, 153, 159. Habitual, re- 
moved by a clear view of the Gosp el , 
59, n. Of death, overcome, 212, n. 

Fearing, Mr. account of, 309—315. 

Feeble-mind, rescued from giant Slay- 
good, 329. His account of himself, 
330, 331. Entertained by Gains, 
332—334. Proceeds on hispilgrim- 
as-e with Christiana, 335. Passes 
the Black river, 374. 

Fire, an emblem, 54. 

Flatterer, the, draws Christian and 
Hopeful into a net, 186. 

Flower-garden, an emblem, 254. 

Formalist and Hypocrisy climb over 
the wall, 63. Turn aside, 66. 270. 

Gains entertains Christiana, &c. 320 
-334. 

Gentleman-like, the expression, 156. 

Goodwill, receives Christian at the 
wicket-gate, 44, 45. Instructs him. 
in the way, 47, 48. Receives Chris- 
tiana, &c. 240. And Mercy, 241. 

Grace, how maintained in the heart, 
54. Evidences of, 116—120. Mna- 
son's daughter, married to Samuel, 
3-11. 

Great-heart, appointed by the Inter- 
preter, to guide Christiana as far as 
the house Beautiful, 262. Slays gi- 
ant Grim, 275. Returns home, 276.. 
Appointed to conduct her all the 
way, 292. Kills giant Maul, 304, 
305. And giant Slay-good, 330. He 
and his companions attack a mon- 
ster at the town of Vanity, 342. 
Slay giant Despair, and demolish 
Doubting-castle, 345, 346. 

Grim, giant, opposes Great-heart and 
the pilgrims, 274. Is slain by him, 
275. 

Hate-good, judge, 131. His address 
to Faithful, 135. His charge to the 
jury, 136. 

Hearing, vain, without doing, 113, 114. 

Heart, of man, represented by a dusty 
parlour, 50, 51. Its deceitfulness, 
199, 200. A good one, 199. Its 
natural enmity against God, 267. 

Heaven, employments of, 214. Friends 
will be known, there, ih. - 



INDEX. 



Help, 31. 

Hen and chickens, an emblem, 253. 

Honest. Mr. found asleep by Christi- 
ana. &c. 306. Accompanies them 
the rest of their pilgrimage. 307, 
&c. Passes the Black river. 5*5. 

Hope and fear duly prop crtiori eel, 59. 
Represented by a golden anchor, 
291. 

Hopef:i a. 139. Inclines 

to turn aside 10 the hill Lucre, 151. 
Is prevented by Christian, 15'2. 
Warns and ene'ouraees Christian 
against suicide, in Donbiing-casde, 
163, 164. Relates his ex. 
190—196. Comforts Christian while 
passing the Black river with him, 
212. 213. _ Is received into the Celes- 
tial city, 217. '. ristian. 

Hospital, for children and orphans, 
257. 

Humiliation, valley of, 83. Chris- 
tian's conflict there, 84 — 90. 294, 
295. 297 — 299. A 'pleasant and 
healthful place in summer time, 
295. Christ had a country house 
there, 296. >\ot necessarily con- 
nected with terror, 294. Increased 
by clear views of the Gospel, 60, n. 
197. 

Hypocrisy, see Formality. A spe- 
cious kind of, 139, 140, n. 

Idleness, objected to religious persons. 
353. 

Ignorance, 174. His conversation 
with Christian and Hopeful, 174, 
175. Conversation about him be- 
tween Christian and Hopeful. 175. 
197. 203. His hopes, 175. 198, 199. 
His good motions. 19S. His good 
heart, 199. His faith, 201. 202. Is 
fexried o ver the Black river by Vain- 
hope, 218. Has no certificate, ib. 
Is carried back the By-way to hell. 
219. 

Imagination, accessible to Satan, 83. 
n. 8?,S 

Indictment, of Mr. Bunyan, 16. Of 
Christian and Faithful, 132. 

Indifference, in regard to theological 
truth, prevalence of, 170, n. 

Innocence, Mount, 350. 

Innocent, 249. 

Insanity, very seldom occasioned by 
religion, 161, n. 

Interpreter-, entertains Christian, 49 — 
59. And Christiana. &c. 250—262 

Intolerancy, evil of, 136, 137, n. 

Invitations, to sinners, mistakes about, 
229, n. 236, n. 212, n. 

James, Christiana's son, marries Phe- 
be,333. 



Johnson, Dr. a great admirer of the 
Pilgrim's Progress," 20. 

Joseph, Christiana's ' son, marries 
Martha, 341. 

Jury, on die trial of Christian and 
Faithful, tiieir names, 137. Their 
verdict, 138. 

Justification, not bv works, 21. 22, n. 
37. n. 42. 193. Bv faith, way of, 
194—196. 201. 263-^266. Objections 
against it answered, 200, 201. 

Knowledge, vain, without practice, 

117. Two kinds of, ib. 
Key, of promise," 166. 

Ladder, Jacob's. 291, 292. 

Law, the, cannot sanctify, 51, 52. 
Knows nouiing of mercy, 103. Ex- 
plained away by those who expect 
justification by it, 36, n. 50, n. 
Man's natural enmity against it, 
50, n. The rule of duty, 316, n. 

Legality, Mr. recommended to Chris- 
tian by Worldly-w isefcan. 36. Ex- 

■ posed "by Evangelist, 41. 

Lions, before the house Beautiful, 68. 
71.104. Backed by giant Grim, 274. 

Little-faith, robbery of, 177. Obser- 
vations on it, 178 — 184. Difference 
between him and Esau, 180. 

Looking-glass, given to Mercy, 352, 
353. 

Lord of die hill, discourse concerning 
him, 78—50. 

See Monument - 

Lucre, hill, 119. 

Map, Greatheart's. 363. 

Marriage, 284, 285! 323. 

Martha. Mnason's daughter, married 
to Joseph, 341. 

Marvel, Mount, 350. 

Matthew, Christiana's son, taken ilL 
285. Cured liy Mr. SkM* 286. Mar- 
ries Mercy. 326. 

Maul, giant, slain by Great-heart, 304, 
305. 

Mercy, visits Christiana, 231. Is per- 
suaded to accompany her on pil- 
grimage, 234. Admitted at the 
wicket-gate, after some delay, 241. 
Her dream, 27S. 279. Visited by 
Mr. Brisk,' 283,' 284. Married to 
Matthew, 326. Longs for the look- 
ing-glass at the Delectable Moun- 
tains, 352, 353. 

Minister, picture of, 49, 50. Exposed to 
great danger when situated among 
the affluent, 150, 151, n. Duty oi 



praying for, 276. 
Mini 



Minisirv, stated advantages of, 262, 

n. 353, n. 
Mistrust and Timorous, 63. Punished 



INDEX. 



for endeavouring to hinder Chris- 
tian, 273. 

Mnason. entertains Christiana, &c. 
337-343. 

Monster, a, attacked by Great-heart, 
&c. at Vanity, 341. 

Monument, 1.53. 

Morality,' village of, 36. A faulty 
and defective kind of, put in the 
place oftheGosoel, 36, n. 40,n. 50, n. 

Moses. 103.. 

Much-afraid. See Despondency. 

Muck-rake, an emblem, 251. 

Negligence, darkens the believer's evi- 
dence, 67. 
Not-right, killed by lightning, 332. 

Obstinate, pursues Christian, £6. Re- 
turns home, 27. 

' Pagan, giant, 97. Pagan persecution 
may possibly be revived, ib. n. 

Palace, guarded by armed men, 55. 

Pardon, by word and by deed, 241. 
263—266. 

Parlour, dusty, an emblem, 51. 

Passion and Patience, 52. 

Persecution. 128— 138. Causes of, 128. 
129.131. See Pagan. 

Perseverance, final, doctrine of, 53. -54. 
169, n. Abused, 92, n. Guarded 
from abuse, 161, n. 178, n. Means 
of, 172, n. 

Phebe, Gaius's daughter, married to 
James, 3:33. 

Pickthank, his evidence asainstFaith 
ful, 135. Answered, 136. 

Picture of the pilgrim's guide. 49, .50 

Piety, her conversation with Chris 
tian, 73 — 75. 

Pilgrimage, objections against it, 35, 
358—361. Two things requisite for 
those who undertake it, 340. 

Pills, Mr. Skill's, 287. 

Pleasure, worldly, 124. 

Pliable, pursues Christian, 26. ■ Is pre- 
vailed on to accompany him, 27. 
Falls into the slough of Despond, 30. 
Returns home, 32. Farther account 
of him, 100. 

Pope, giant, 97. 

Popery, fast declines at present, 97. 
126. Represented by a monster, 
341, n. Prevalence in England be- 
fore the Revolution, 18. 341, n. 

Prayer, perseverance in, necessary 
194, 195. Why required, 247, 248. 

Preciseness, objected to religious per 
sons, 128. 

Prejudice and Ill-will throwing dirt 
on Innocent, 350. 

Presumption, see Simple. Represent- 
ed by a ditch, 92. 



Profession, worthless without fruit, 
254, 255. 

Professors, loose, being a scandal on 
religion, 112. 120. How such are 
to be dealt with, 116-rl20. Emblem 
of hypocritieal,'254, 255. 

Prosperity, 190, n. 361. 364, 365. 

Providence, -opening of, abuse of, 
abuse of the term, 146, 147. 

Prudence, her conversation with 

,' Christian, 75, 76. Catechises Chris- 
tiana's children, 230— 283. 

Quag, in the valley of the Shadow of 
Death, 93. 

Raiment given to Christiana at the 
Interpreter's, 361. 

Ranters, the, assail Mr. Bunyan by 
one of their jparty, who seems to 
have furnished the character of Athe- 
ist. 13. Probably intended by Self- 
will, ib. 

Ready-to-halt, joins Christiana, &c, 
and accompanies them in their pil- 
grimage, 33-5, &c. Passes die Black 
river, 374. 

Regeneration, precedes right views of 
the glory of the Gospd,'266, 267, n. 

Religion, its practical nature, 114, 
115. Evangelical, declined after 
the publication of the first part of 
the "Pilgrim's Progress," 233, n. 
270, n. 

Repentance, false, 206, 207. Necessity 
of, 237, 288. Folly of deferring it 
to a death-bed, 319. 

Restitution, final, 267, 268. 

Righteousness of Christ, fourfold, 264. 

River, of the Water of Life. 155, 156, 
344. The Black, 211-213. 370— 
378. Its abbings and Sowings, 370, 

Robin,- the, an emblem, 255. 

Roll, given to Christian, 61. Lost in 
the arbour on the hill Difficulty, 67. 
Found again, 69. See Certificate, 

Sacrament, the, 78. 277. 

Sagacity, Mr. his account of Chri» 

tian, 224, 225. Of Christiana and 

her family, 226—239. 
Sanctification, 57. 
Samuel, Christiana's son,' married tf> 

Grace, 341. 
Saying and doing, 113. 
Scriptures, represented by a study, SOU 

Bv a looking-glass, 352. By a map, 

363. Plow to be read, 282, n. 
Seal, a, set on Christian's forehead, 

61. On Christiana's, 261. 
Secret, 229. 

Security, danger of, 66. 
Self-will, 316—319. The ranters pre* 
I bably intended by hhn, 13. 



384 



INDEX. 



Shadow of Death, valley of, 90—97. 
299—303. 

Shame, 105-103. 

Shepherd's, at the Delectable Moun- 
tains, 163—171. 313—354. 

Sheep, the, an emblem, 254. 

Silver, mine of. See Lucre. 

Simple, Sloth, and Presumption, 
asleep, 62. Hanged, 268. Drew 
many aside,, 263. 

Sin. indwelling', 65, n. Deliberate, 
must bring guilt on the conscience, 
159, n. Allowed, a proof of hypo- 
crisy, 256, n. 

Sinai, mount. 37. 42. Covenant, 41, n. 

Skill, Mr: , 285. His pills, 287. 

Slander. See Prejudice. 

Slay -good, giant, killed by Great- 
heart, 329, 330. 

Spider, an emblem, 252. 

Spies, two, 91. 

Spirit, the Holy, his comforting influ- 
ences. 155, n. 344. His teaching, 49, 
50. 317, 318. His inward witness. 
59, 60, n. 

Spring, at the foot of the hill Diffi- 
culty, 66. 270. 

Standfast, overtaken by Christiana, 
&c, 366. •Accompanies them the 
remainder of their pilgrimage. 337, 
&c His account of Madam Bub- 
ble, 357, 368. Passes the Black 
river, 377. 

Suggestions, satanical, 45, n. S3, n. 
95. Occasion of good to believers, 
245, n. Deterring persons from the 
use of the means ot grace, 301, n. 

Suicide, 163. 

Superstition, his evidence against 
Faithful, 134. Answered, 136. 

Talkative, description of him, 109. 
Beguiles Faithful by bis plausib e 
discourse, 109 — 111. Exposed by 
Christian, 112 — 116. His answers 
to Faithful's questions refuted, 116 
—120. Leaves Faithful, 120. 

Tell-truth, 357. 

Temporary, once very religious. 205. 
208. Reasons of such men's draw- 
ing back, 2U6, 207, Manner of it, 
56, 57. 207, 208. 



Temptations, peculiar, often succeed 
peculiar consolations, 83. (See 
Apollyon.) Vice versa, 89. Are 
no proof of spiritual advancement, 
309, 310. Believers drawn aside by, 
lo0. n. Means to be used for their 
removal, 311, n. 

Terror, vain without humiliation, 191 
—193. 

Timorous, 67.68. His daughter endea- 
vours to dissuade Christiana from 
going on pilgrimage, 231, 232. Her 
conversation with her neighbours 
about her, 234. 235. 

Tree, rotten, an emblem. 257. 

Trial, of Mr. Bunyan, 16. Of Chris- 
tian and Faithful at Vanity, 131— 
133. 

Turn-away, 176. £54. 

Vain-confidence, 155. 

Valiant-for-trnth, overtaken by Chris- 
tiana, &c. 355. Accompanies them 
the rest of their pilgrimage, 356. &c. 
- Relates his conflict with three rol>- 
bers, 356. Gives an account of his 
setting out on pilgrimage. 357 — 361. 
Passes the Black river. 376. 

Vanity, town of, 124. The fair kept 
there, 125, 125. Christ passed 
through it, 125. Persecution of 
Christian and Faithful there, 127 — 
139. State of, when Cliristiana 
passed through it, 339, 340. 

Wanton, Madam, 101. 

Watchful, the porter at the housg 

Beautiful, 71. 275. 
Wicket-gate, 25. 44, 45. 240, 241. 
Women, a commendation of, 323. 
Works, men will be judged according 

to their, 113—115. 22-5, n. 
Worl dy-wiseman, 34—37, Exposed 

by Evangelist, 40, 41. 

Youne persons, cautions to, 150, 15L 

n. 245. 
Youth and aee, their different advaa* 

tages, 327, 328. 

Zeal, rash, ill effects of, 127, 128, tk 



THE END. 



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